Growing Up
by Katherine Moonhawk
Summary: Sequel to 'The L Word', In the end it's inescapable, Amy will grow old- but will she leave the Doctor behind? In the mean time, they've got giant bats, deadly roses, and buddhist monks to deal with, ah the perils of life, love and time travel!
1. The Indigo Chill

**AN: **Hellooooooo, sorry this took so long- but I've FINALLY finished my exams. Updates will be slower than the L word as I've had less time to work on it, but I'll do my best!

Yes, this is the sequel to the L word, I really hope you enjoy it. Basically, the events of the rest of the series happened, minus Rory and River. I mean they were still there as characters- but different relationships.

Ok, all you really need to know is the cracks are gone, and Amy chose the Doc, and then you've got the AU nailed. Ok? Good.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Doctor who- I wish I did, because then I'd get Matt smith- this would make me happy. For now though, I do own all my own original plot lines, characters, ideas and settings- so no stealing, geddit?

Right, first quote!

"_Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself. To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night. To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving." _

If you guess the quote 3 times correctly (who said it that is) then lucky you gets to add to the story- with a character name, place name, a colour for the sky- anything, it's just a bit of fun to keep you on your toes and make you read these quotes, because they normally relate to each chap.

And with that, lets just get started shall we?

Enjoy!

* * *

There were a series of clicks and metallic thunks in the console room. Amy stood, a little impatient, as the Doctor tightened antique looking leather straps around her shoulders, attached to a fantastic metal oxygen tank, stuck on with hundreds of whirling dials and flashing lights.

The Doctor moved round in front of her, wearing his own oxygen tank, and spun a dial, then picked up a ribbed metal tube attached to an oxygen mask. He put the oxygen mask over Amy's face, adjusting it a little.

"Ok, now, breathe."

Amy breathed in deeply- there was a hiss and a whirr and all the lights started flashing green. The Doctor grinned. "Ok, brilliant, warm enough?"

Amy, wrapped up in about seventy layers of warm clothing, courtesy of the Doctor and the wardrobe, nodded impatiently, her eyes shining with excitement. The Doctor frowned, pressing a hand to her forehead and then ran underneath the console. Amy rolled her eyes, folding her arms and listening to the hiss of her oxygen tank as she breathed deeply.

The Doctor came back up with a white woolen bobble hat he'd _acquired_ for her at a Christmas market in Edinburgh. Amy's eyes creased as she smiled whilst he pulled it on over her head, hesitating before pulling her great fluffy hood back up.

He smiled and slid the hat up a little, pressing his warm lips to the soft skin of her forehead. He pulled away, charmed by the soft pink flush rising in her cheeks, and chatted conversationally as he rearranged her enormous hood.

"You know, I hadn't seen a red headed Eskimo till now."

Amy punched him lightly on the shoulder, glaring, and he gave her a cheeky grin back before grabbing her hands and tugging her down the steps to the TARDIS doors.

"Ready?"

Amy nodded, eyes glowing, and the Doctor slipped on his own oxygen mask, before pushing open the TARDIS doors and walking outside, looking up at the clear blue sky- partially obscured by the snowy white peaks of the mountains forming the valley they stood halfway up on a sort of plateau.

The Doctor frowned, pulling off his oxygen mask and breathing deeply.

"Well, that's rubbish."

He turned to Amy, ankle deep in snow, and gestured to her oxygen tank. "You can take that off. We're only 3050m up. The air's fine."

Amy took off her oxygen mask, glaring at the Doctor. "Somehow, I don't think this is the top of Mount Everest."

The Doctor frowned, helping her shrug off the oxygen tanks and slinging both back inside the TARDIS doors before going back to surveying his surroundings, shoving his hands inside his pockets as he crunched across the snow back to Amy.

"No. No, it isn't."

He checked his watch. "982 CE. We're in the Spiti Valley. Still the Himalayas. Just…not the right mountain."

Amy rolled her eyes again. "That is just typical you. Can we go back in to Everest now, please?"

The Doctor half smiled as she clung to his arm, about to give in when someone gave a shout.

The pair looked up to see a Buddhist monk in layers of rough robes running across the snow towards them- eyes wide in wonder. The Doctor grinned and took Amy's hand.

"Here comes trouble."

The monk reached them- out of breath, a long wooden staff in his right hand. The Doctor's eyes flashed over it and registered a hint of excitement- Amy wondered why.

The monk looked from the Doctor and Amy to the TARDIS and back again. He fell to his knees in the snow, "Welcome, travelers."

He looked up and smiled, revealing hundreds of laugh lines creased around the corners of his chocolate brown eyes. "I am Monk Sonam. Welcome to Tabo Monastery."

The Doctor raised his eyebrows and then beamed when he caught sight of where the monk was gesturing to.

A few hundred metres away stood a series of low, basic stone buildings- brand new in a maze of walls and structures- covered in a layer of snow.

He smiled at Amy, a secret smile just for her. She grinned back, loving everything about this- the freedom and the beauty and the mystery- her whole life was mad and perfect. She gripped his fingers tightly in hers, and together they followed Sonam back to the monastery, through the white, cold snow.

X

Sonam banged hard on the doors, to be let in by two younger looking monks who bowed their heads in respect- barely hiding their curiosity concerning the new strangers and their bizarre clothing. Sonam led the Doctor and Amy through simple corridors full of monks going about their business.

Amy watched them, then jogged to keep up with the Doctor. Finally they turned left and then left again to enter a huge place of worship, in which an elderly man in colourful robes wearing several beads was praying amongst a cloud of incense before a huge Buddha.

Sonam knelt then shuffled up to the man. "High lama- I am sorry to interrupt your meditation- but we have visitors, most…unusual visitors."

The high lama looked up and turned to see the Doctor and Amy, the Doctor nodded his head and Amy gave a little wave, "hello there ."

The Doctor smothered a grin and elbowed her in the ribs, but the lama simply smiled, his lined, brown face creasing in a thousand different places.

There was something strange about him though- his eyes were navy blue- and his lips, too, were tinged a bluish colour. They parted to reveal even teeth in a welcoming, amused grin.

"Hello indeed."

X

"There's something… wrong." The Doctor muttered to Amy in a low voice as they followed the Lama down another corridor to his private quarters.

Amy frowned. "What do you mean?"

The Doctor shrugged. "I dunno- but I've got a feeling things aren't what they seem…"

Amy looked at the monks rushing past, going about their lives- their simple, honest faces seemed suddenly sinister. She shuddered a little and picked up her pace.

Monk Sonam opened an elaborately carved wooden door, and the Doctor and Amy followed the Lama inside.

The room they found themselves in was relatively small, decorated with scrolls painted with ink scenes of the mountains and birds hanging from the walls. In the centre of the room was a low wooden table atop which sat an earthen tea pot, gently steaming, and three cups.

Around the table were simply woven cushions, which the Lama sat upon cross legged, gesturing for the Doctor and Amy to sit. The Doctor copied the monk's position, whilst Amy folded her legs under her, sitting forwards a little.

The Lama poured the tea, giving Amy and the Doctor a cup each. Amy took it and blew on it a little, inhaling the half sweet, half bitter smell of the herbs.

"I am Gyatso, the High Lama at this monastery- who, exactly, are you- friends?"

Amy and the Doctor smiled.

"I'm the Doctor." Gyatso let out a small laugh, though his brow furrowed.

The Doctor paused and frowned. "What is it?"

"Poor Sonam- always sending me Doctors, though he knows none can help."

Amy frowned. "What's wrong with you?"

Gyatso gestured to his navy eyes, the same colour all the way through- including his pupils, and his slightly blue lips.

"We call it the indigo chill. I have days- maybe a week now. But still Sonam tries to help me."

The Doctor entwined his fingers. "How do you know it can't be cured?"

Gyatso sighed. "Several of our monks- mostly the elderly or the young, have already caught it. We tried everything- prayer, massage, herbs, waters, music- nothing helped. So far we've lost 27 to the sickness."

The Doctor raised his eyebrows. "Do you have any idea what causes it?"

Gyatso shook his head, "most of them were in separate buildings, so it's specific to the valley- a few villagers caught it, but no. All I know is one day you wake up, and you have it, and in two weeks, you die."

"What are the symptoms, other than the…you know- blue stuff?"

Amy didn't want to say it- but she was still trying to figure out how unusual coloring killed you.

Gyatso looked at her hard. "Shivers, in the night, weakness of the muscles, dizziness, and, slowly, you go blind. And there's something else- the worse you get."

He paused, looking at the Doctor and Amy with his strange eyes.

"You hear screams- the most awful screams and cries, day in, day out- like the cry of hungry beasts in the night, waiting for you to die."

Amy shivered, and the Doctor looked at her sideways. "Well- no time to lose."

He jumped to his feet, pulling Amy up too. Gyatso was slower to stand- and now she knew to look for it Amy noticed his muscles tremble slightly with the effort.

The monk frowned, tilting his head. " I'm sorry…Doctor, but what are you going to do? And, really, _who are you_?"

The Doctor beamed and Amy grinned with him. "I'm the Doctor, and I'm going to stop the plague."

* * *

Good old Doctor- ready to actually fight disease for once instead of alien monsters- unless the two are linked…

Hope you liked it- what now? Any ideas for how the Indigo Chill may have spread? Any ideas as to what the 'Indigo Chill' actually is?

The Tabo Monastery does exist, so does the Spiti Valley, they're pretty cool places- but you'll have to forgive me for taking creative licence, I don't know much about Buddhism though I've tried my best- this is a work of fiction, so it won't be 100% historically accurate, I hope you don't mind.

As ever, 5 reviews for same day update, I really hope you enjoyed this and keep reading!

Kat


	2. Who wants to live forever?

**AN: **Hey! So glad you all liked the first chap and are ready to give the sequel a chance, here's the second chap.

Congratulations to mouse and 'pale face and rain' from Deviant Art for getting the quote right, one point each! It was 'Kahlil Gibran' who said last chap's quote.

This chap's quote:

_It is impossible to love and be wise. _

So, they're in the Tabo Monastery in the himalayas, a loooong time BC, and there's a mysterious plague going round erratically, dubbed the 'Indigo chill' because of its bizarre symptoms.

The Doctor has just promised to stop the plague- what now I wonder…..?

Enjoy!

* * *

Gyatso smiled. "That's wonderful, but first- I must insist you and your partner get some rest, for one thing, my monks too must follow their routine."

The Doctor nodded, and Gyatso rang a bell. Within moments, the familiar face of Monk Sonam appeared at the door.

He led the Doctor and Amy back down the long corridors to the guest rooms- which were spacious in terms of the monk's regular accommodation which the Doctor and Amy had glimpsed as they hurried past.

There were small holes in the side of the room they stopped before, letting in some light and cold air through straw stuffed inside them. There was a candle on a low table and a straw mat on the floor, with several blankets on top and a simple pillow. There was only one bed.

Amy went bright red- and she could've sworn she saw the faintest flush rise on the Doctor's cheeks as they contemplated how to overcome this problem. They were saved though, when Sonam took Amy's arm and led her a little further down the corridor. The Doctor followed.

About three rooms down, Amy's room was identical to the Doctor's, if ever so slightly smaller. Sonam gestured to the room, "the lady will stay here whiles you are in the monastery if it suits you sir."

The Doctor nodded. "Fine with me, you?'

Amy nodded, though she couldn't help a tiny hint of disappointment- he was so boring sometimes. Still, it didn't seem like anything like _that_ was coming any time soon. Amy coughed and blushed as she realized the direction of her thoughts and wandered into the room.

There was a loud sound as a gong was rung somewhere, and streams of monks began walking past the room, the Doctor, Amy and Sonam in the same direction, away from the rooms.

With a quick bow of his head, Sonam, too, departed.

Once the corridor was empty again, the Doctor followed Amy into her room, shutting the door behind him.

"So, what do you think it is?" The Scot asked, her voice curious and wary.

The Doctor ran a hand through his hair.

"Some kind of advanced poison if I'm right- but I don't know how it's getting round."

"Poison?" Amy thought of the tea they'd been drinking and her stomach did an uneasy flip.

The Doctor nodded. "Yes- but it doesn't make sense!"

Amy frowned, "what, because everyone isn't blue?"

The Doctor nodded, "Exactly- whatever it is, it's choosing it's victims. But that doesn't make sense, or it wouldn't just take the old and young- it'd take people who were important straight off! What's the motive?"

Amy shrugged. "Maybe there isn't one. Maybe whoever it is just wants to kill off random people likely to get sick so it doesn't look like a direct attack."

The Doctor looked at her, a flash of a smile coming across his features. "_That _Amy Pond, is a very good point."

Amy smiled a bit and kissed him on the lips. "Thankyou."

The Doctor grinned, wrapping his arm around her waist and pressing his face into her hair. "Ok, but then who is doing it? Who's behind it? Why do they want to kill these people, _and_ who are they trying to hide from?"

Amy raised an eyebrow at the Doctor. "We gonna find out?"

The Doctor stared at her, a hint of seriousness in his usually light and laughing eyes. "Yes. And we need to stop them- before it's too late."

Amy stared back, her hazel eyes wide with fear. "Too late for what?"

The Doctor shrugged. "I don't know yet. I _told_ you things weren't as they seemed!"

Amy frowned. "If it's this dangerous, why are we waiting till the morning?"

The Doctor pulled a face. "I'm afraid Gyatso's right- we'd disturb the monks, and that would be a really bad idea. We don't want anyone to start panicking."

He reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out a walkie talkie.

"Take this- if anything happens, tell me- but whisper, ok?"

Amy nodded. "Got it."

The Doctor smiled at her, quickly stepping closer and pressing a fast kiss to her lips.

"Sweet dreams," he whispered in her ear, then walked out.

Amy smiled, touching her lips and blushing, feeling like a kid and happy about it. Then she shut her door and got into the bed, pulling her beanie and coat off and snuggling into the blankets.

X

Amy wasn't sure what woke her up. Maybe the cold. She looked around her tiny room, cloaked in shadow- the candle had long since gone out.

She shivered a little as she sat up- the Himalayas were freakin' _cold_ at night. Amy clutched her blankets round her and look around, feeling the hairs on the back of her neck prickling.

_Someone else was in the room._

Amy's eyes flashed across the deep shadows pooling next to the rough stone in the corners of the room, she reached for the walkie talkie underneath her pillow…

An elongated, hairy hand stopped her, whilst another went across her mouth as Amy let out a little cry.

"Don't bother with that."

Whatever it was whispered in a rasping voice.

"I'm not going to hurt you."

Amy, breathing heavily, heart pounding, tugged the hand off her face, and it came away easily, going back to a body somewhere behind her. She tried to turn to see it, and felt it moving just out of sight.

"Trust me, you don't want to see me." The thing whispered. "It would give you _such_ nightmares."

Swallowing her fear Amy replied, "Oh yeah, you think?"

The thing hissed, and there was a dull thunk. Amy turned to the bedside table where the sound had come from. On it sat a silver goblet, encrusted with semi precious blue stones in spiraling patterns. The goblet was full of a strange liquid.

Amy thought about what the Doctor had said about poison and eyed it warily.

The thing behind her laughed, and Amy felt goosebumps rise on her skin.

"Amelia Pond. It's alright. I won't harm you."

Amy gasped. "You know my name. How do you know my name? Who are you?"

The thing laughed it's rasping laugh again. "So many questions Amy- so little time. But I have a better one. What will you do when you grow old?"

It was such an odd question Amy had to pause to think. "I-I don't know what you mean?"

She felt the thing clamber around behind her, and tried to turn to catch sight of it again.

"Your Doctor, Amy. He won't grow old with you. How long do you really think he's going to keep you? Do you honestly think he'll still want you, when your hairs are graying and your face is lined- when you look like his mother?"

Amy didn't want to think about it- knew what the thing was saying was ridiculous. But it's words were like sweet poison, twisting into her mind. Still she managed to shake her head.

"Of course he will- he's 907! It's not like age is an issue."

The thing hissed. "Ah- but there's the problem Amy dearest, isn't it? You'll leave him alone- you'll barely live a hundredth of his lifespan- and then you'll leave him, your raggedy Doctor, all alone for the rest of forever."

Amy felt tears sting her eyes as the creature's words wormed their way into her mind and heart. She shook her head.

"No. I won't leave him." Her voice was firm and determined.

The thing growled. "You won't have a choice though, will you? After all," it chuckled, "you're only human."

Amy felt an ache in her chest- it's words rang true, and the thought of the Doctor, alone, her dying and knowing she was leaving him… God, it hurt.

The thing's sandpaper rough voice interrupted her thoughts.

"_Unless_ there was a way to stay with him- stay young and live as long as he does…"

Amy frowned, her attention caught like a fly in honey.

"W-what do you mean?"

The thing laughed again, and she tried to twist to see it. Still it remained in the shadows.

"Now I've caught your attention. Look at the goblet, think about it…the elixir of eternal youth…"

Amy could _feel_ the words twisting into her mind, poisoning her with their sweet promise. But she was stronger. Of course.

She shook her head. "No. You're lying. I don't believe you- and I don't need to live forever. I've got him now, and that's what matters."

The thing made a low noise, and sighed. "If you really believe that…think about it…."

There was a rush of wind, and a sound like beating wings, and then it was gone. Amy felt the hairs on her arms tickle her skin as they settled onto the slight goosebumps still pimpling her flesh.

She turned away from her bedside table, holding the blankets tight around her, and stared into the shadows until sleep enveloped her once more in its embrace.

* * *

Oooooh, what is that thing? And what will Amy do? Has it got any relation to the poison which causes the Indigo Chill (what do you think?) ?

Hope you liked this, thanks again for your reviews- 5 will guarantee next day update, though not sure when as I have a train to catch,

Thanks for reading, please do review with thoughts, comments and questions- they're always welcome,

Kat


	3. A choice and a Gun fight

**AN: **Hello! Ooooh- I'm a horrible author, and so sorry. Mix ups with changes and delays- everything went a bit mad and I'm sorry.

Well done to Rain and Mouse for getting the quote right again, 2 points each now, it was Francis Bacon. Lady Seiryu also got it right- well done! One point

_To Sabrina_- I'm glad you're still reading and sharp as ever, I fixed the typo- thankyou, they plague me! I suppose I'm just too enthusiastic ;) As for Indigo- my Mum is an art historian and I've conferred with her, it can be perceived as a colour as a deep purple _or_ a deep blue- which was a reference to the unusual colour of the eyes which you also noticed. Thanks as ever for the reviews though, I'm glad you're still reading

_To LilyHale21_- Thanks for the review, I'm so glad you like it, and close! But not quite.

_To MrSuperCzar-_ Well, thanks very much is all I have to say really, I hope you keep reading.

Ok, this chap's quote:

_"In my wildest dreams, you always play the hero. In my darkest hour of night, you rescue me, you save my life." _

So, the night before Amy was tempted with the 'elixir of eternal life' by an enigmatic creature- and faced with the realization one day soon she would leave the Doctor alone once more..

Meanwhile, a mysterious plague which the Doctor believes is poison is affecting the monks of the Tabo Monastery, including the leader, Gyatso. What now?

Enjoy!

* * *

When Amy woke in the morning, the goblet was still on her bedside table.

For a moment she lay, listening to the faint whistle of the chill wind creeping past the monks' shabby medieval insulation.

She stared at the silver cup- it was beautiful. Gleaming, with clear signs of age- it looked smooth, from being touched by hundreds of desperate hands. The silver clutched the mysterious blue stones, which seemed to glow with their own inner light.

The stem of the cup was slender and elegant- the base perfectly proportioned. She'd have thought it was made by a machine if it hadn't had that distinct aged beauty, in the dull glow of the ever so slightly uneven stones in their bizarre patterns across its surface.

Amy stared at the patterns the stones made- so hard it began to feel like they were moving, twisting, dripping into the silver like water melting into mist….

Her walkie talkie crackled and Amy jumped, getting a little carpet burn on the back of her thigh from the scratchy sheets. She picked up the device from next to her bed as the Doctor's voice came through, excited as ever.

"Pond, Earth to Pond, you awake Pond?"

Amy couldn't help a little smile creep onto her lips as she listened to his voice.

But the goblet drew her attention like a magnet. Her eyes flickered to it, sitting waiting on her bedside table beside the candle.

"Mornin' Doctor. What's put you in such a great mood?"

"I'll tell you. Hang on, I'm coming now."

There was a scuffle and a beep. Amy looked at her walkie talkie, then at the goblet, shrugging off the covers. Quickly she pulled open the single drawer in her bedside table.

For some reason she didn't want the Doctor to know about the goblet yet. Maybe she could hide it.

The drawer was too low for the goblet to stand in- she'd have to tip away the liquid.

Amy stared at the translucent fluid, sparkling in the silver goblet. She thought about the creature's words. About leaving the Doctor alone forever….

She was jerked out of her thoughts by the sound of the Doctor's footsteps in the corridor outside, nearly at her room. Amy stared at the goblet. She had to make her choice- now.

X

The Doctor grinned as he entered the room, and Amy turned to face him, instantly smiling back. He chuckled at the knot of red hair around her head.

"Sleep well?"

At the same time he noticed the shadows under her eyes, the slight pallor of her skin.

Amy shrugged. "Not really, I guess I'm used to beds- you?"

The Doctor smiled as he came closer, gently running his fingers through her hair.

"You know me. I don't sleep much. When I do, bad things happen."

Unbeknownst to the Time Lord, Amy thought about her visit in the night, the hidden goblet. She said nothing.

The Doctor got to a particularly complicated knot, deftly working it out with his fingers. "Why is it in eleven lifetimes I don't get to be ginger- and you get it in one?"

He sounded oddly childlike and Amy laughed, leaning back into him and looking up at his face. "Maybe I'm the price you have to pay."

The Doctor looked at her, frowning a little, an odd half smile on his face. "Maybe. I guess you're worth it then."

Amy couldn't help a little jump in her heart at that, and then a sinking feeling in her stomach as she thought about the price he'd pay for loving her- giving her his heart and his name, only to lose her, be left alone again.

The Scot closed her eyes. She'd made her choice now- she didn't know what would happen. She couldn't think about these things.

"Doesn't mean I'm not still jealous though."

The Doctor's petulant comment brought Amy out of her darker thoughts and she laughed out loud, turning and pressing her hands against his chest.

"You've got me, and my hair," she laughed as she added the last part on, then leaned forwards and kissed him, nibbling his lower lip and then play fighting with his mouth as he responded.

After a while they broke apart, the Doctor's eyes shining with delight at the fact he could share this feeling, if only for a while.

Amy looked at him, tilting her head to the side.

"So, what did you come in to tell me?"

The Doctor grinned and took Amy's hand, dragging her from the room. Laughing the girl followed- leaving the goblet in the drawer behind her.

X

"What is it?" Amy asked, the Doctor's infectious excitement lending her eager impatience fuel and curiosity.

The Doctor grinned and put a finger to his lips as a stern looking monk, Chinese in appearance with a bald head, sharp, distinctively slender almond shaped brown eyes and sun weathered skin approached.

He was fairly short- smaller than the Doctor and Amy at least, but he was well built- suggested by the way his rough robes fell across his body, and there was a grace in the way he walked which reminded Amy of a prowling tiger.

He nodded to the Doctor, clearly having already been acquainted with him. Amy wondered how long the Doctor had been up before he'd woken her. Then the monk turned to her and smiled, bowing his head.

Amy, a little confused, simply smiled and inclined her own head in response.

"I am Monk Anil, it is a delight to meet you, Miss Pond."

Amy smiled and nodded, shoving her hands in her pockets, unsure really how to respond- glancing at the Doctor and receiving no help. His eyes shone as he watched her for her own response. Amy stuck her tongue out at him, _useless Time Lord._

The Doctor covered a laugh with a hasty fake cough as Amy turned to Anil.

"Um, yeah- nice to meet you too."

Amy blushed and Anil smiled, taking her hand in his weathered ones.

"Please do not concern yourself with formalities Amelia. We do not hold it against you that you are a stranger, and unaccustomed to our ways. We only wish to share."

This would normally be the point where Amy turned and ran from the zealous nutter- but there was a kind, quiet wisdom in Anil's eyes and face which made her trust him, and sort of understand him. She smiled shyly back, and the Doctor came over.

"Anil has very kindly offered to share some of his time with us."

Amy looked around the courtyard they stood in, swept of snow, fenced in by a tall wooden wall which linked the area to the monastery. Next to the wall of the main buildings were a line of sticks of different shapes in a rack. Anil stood in the centre of the space.

Amy frowned and bit her lip. She didn't want to ask, but she couldn't help thinking, _what for?_

She was saved from looking too stupid by Anil, who stepped forwards, smiling.

"Today I will teach you how to become one with your surroundings- begin to understand the flow of energy around you- and most importantly according to your Doctor, how to protect yourself."

Amy glanced at the Doctor quickly, but he was simply grinning- though he seemed to deliberately avoid her gaze.

Anil smiled.

"As you can probably assume, Miss Pond, I am not of Tibetan origin- I came here from China- searching for enlightenment and seeking to share my knowledge. I cannot and do not claim that this particular art helps in the practice of Buddhism- but I know it helps one to be more aware of their surroundings and interactions."

Amy thought about the way Anil walked, like a graceful predator. She could believe what he was saying.

Anil walked over to the rack of sticks and held one before the Doctor, before choosing another and throwing it to the Time Lord.

"Now, we are going to practice fighting with Guns- it is simple and effective, and quite versatile."

"Guns?"

Amy was fairly sure she didn't have any serious hearing or sight issues- but the sticks the Doctor and Anil were holding most certainly looked nothing like guns.

The Doctor caught her look of confusion and explained, " A Gun is a kind of staff the Chinese used to fight with- in harmony with the martial arts."

He tapped his weapon on the ground, it's base, slightly wider than the tip, made a dull thud on the stone. " 'The Grandfather of all weapons' is what people call it eventually."

Amy raised her eyebrows. "I thought you hated weapons."

The Doctor shrugged- but there was a guarded look in his eyes-Amy recognized it as a sign of one of those things he hadn't shared before.

"I do- but it doesn't mean I don't know how to use them, and besides…."

The Doctor struggled for words, Amy waited patiently and Anil politely pretended to be otherwise occupied.

"Besides- I suppose I don't hate all of them. I never used this to really hurt someone- but there's a sort of enjoyment in the freedom it gives you- the reward of all those hours of practice, delight in a skill you know you have and can wield. It's…fun."

He smiled and Amy smiled back, folding her arms and leaning back against the monastery's wooden wall.

"Nice one- alright, lets see what you can do shall we? I'm giving you…thirty seconds before our friend Anil has got you down for the count."

She smiled as she said it, playing with him, but Amy couldn't help thinking the Doctor wouldn't last particularly long- what with his frequent acts of clumsiness, and the clear expertise with which Anil casually held his staff.

Anil grinned at the Doctor, who raised his eyebrows, but whose face remained impassive. He twirled the pole a few times- which looked impressive, but which Amy told herself anyone could do with practice.

"Your faith in me is overwhelming." He said as he and Anil bowed to each other- Anil smiling a little to himself.

Amy laughed and said with mock indignation, "I have a lot of faith in you! Just not when you're trying to fight a kung fu master guy with a stick."

Anil laughed out loud at that as he and the Doctor began to pace, circling each other- but the Doctor didn't respond to his companion this time, he was completely focused on what he was doing.

Amy found the expression on his face magnetic- that look of fierce intensity, rare but bubbling beneath his light hearted surface all the time.

Suddenly, the Doctor was a blur of action- his staff thwacked against Anil hard, but not too hard in a series of rapid blows- which caused him to crumple to his knees.

Amy gasped, thinking that was it, but as the Doctor's staff came down again, quick as a flash Anil's hand shot out, stopping the strike which cause his staff to vibrate with the force of the impact.

Anil leapt to his feet in one swift movement and went on the offensive- but even to Amy's untrained eyes she could see the Doctor was far superior. For a few moments they were both blurs, trading strikes faster than Amy could keep track of.

Then- with a resounding _smack_ the Doctor brought Anil to his knees, and in moments, had his Gun to the other man's throat, breathing fast, his shirt untucked and hair ruffled, a slight flush on his face.

He smiled and Anil smiled back, bowing his head, "I concede defeat."

The Doctor nodded and withdrew his staff, then looked over at Amy, one eyebrow raised. She grinned, though she couldn't help a wave of admiration for him.

"That's just showing off."

* * *

Oooh- the Doctor's a good fighter. After his sword fighting display as ten I figure the academy would have started with some kind of martial arts.

What the Doctor says about the Bo staff is true, but I'm afraid the fight sequence is fiction- as I couldn't find any documents of fights or practice online.

So, what did Amy choose? Did she drink it? What happens now? And how is she going to react to being told she needs to learn how to defend herself? (clue: not well)

Thanks for reading, sorry again for the slightly delayed update- 5 reviews for an update asap tomorrow, I hope you're enjoying this sequel,

Kat


	4. Self defense

**AN:** Hello! Thanks as ever for all your wonderful reviews it's such a relief that so far the sequel has gone down so well!

Last chap's quote was by Bliss and Cerney from the band Renaissance. That brings Lady Seiryu to 2 points, Lily to 1, and Rain to three! (note me on DA for your prize)

This chap's quote:

"_Love cures people – both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it." _

So, the Doc just showed off some superior fighting skills- thrashing the martial arts teacher, Anil. And now….? We'll see ;)

Enjoy!

* * *

"Now it is your turn."

Amy blinked and just stared at Anil, who held out a separate staff to her.

Amy looked at it blankly, then at the Doctor, who was leaning against the wooden wall next to her, arms folded, hair still messy- eyes burning.

"_What_?"

Anil shrugged. "Your Doctor has explained that you need to learn how to protect yourself- that you face many dangers in your travels together."

Amy felt her fists clench in indignation. "I can protect myself just _fine_ thankyou."

The words were directed at the Doctor, but it was Anil who replied.

"I think he realizes this- which is why he has asked me to teach you more- so you don't have to rely on him."

Amy eyes widened in anger.

"I do _not_ rely on you!"

Anil shrugged, again acting as interpreter for the wordless Doctor.

"I think he has good intentions- perhaps he simply wants to share something he enjoys with you."

Amy spun to the Time Lord, walking right up to him. She wasn't sure why she was so frustrated- but she could feel it boiling inside her, working it's way to the surface.

"Tell me that's it- just that you want to share with me- have a laugh. Please tell me that's the only reason you want me to learn this."

The Doctor looked at her, jaw set, eyes almost cold in their opacity. "Do you want me to lie to you?"

Amy's eyes widened and narrowed as she saw the meaning behind his words, and her next outpouring came out close to a shout.

"I can look after MYSELF!"

She felt a few tears spill from her eyes as her fists remained clenched, and she suddenly flushed bright red- feeling Anil's curious eyes upon her back. She tried to ignore the Doctor as she went to run off- away from him and all of this.

His hands grabbed her, as she knew they would, and it broke her heart to have to look up into his frantically confused and worried eyes. One of his hands moved from her shoulder to her face- rubbing away her tears gently with his thumb.

Amy let him- she was a mess of emotion now-anger and sadness, and still unsure exactly why.

"Amy, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you- I just couldn't- I-" He broke off, wordless, and kept rubbing away her tears, pulling her closer.

Discreetly, Anil placed the Gun staffs back in the rack and went back inside.

Amy stared at her raggedy Doctor, "why can't you just trust me to take care of myself? _No one_ ever lets me just be myself, look after myself, fight my own battles. They're always interfering and acting like I'm weaker than I am- I thought you wouldn't-didn't think that way."

She was crying more now whilst the Doctor stared at her, a slight frown creasing his brow as he tried to understand her.

"Can't you see that you need to let me be free? Can't you see how badly it hurts me when you won't trust me to be my own person?"

The Doctor frowned. "Amy- I-I _never_ thought that of you- would never treat you like that- at least not intentionally."

"Then why the self-defense lesson?"

"I just thought it could help, that you'd enjoy it, maybe need it. I couldn't see you hurt…"

The Doctor's voice too became more fervent as he tried to make her understand him- in a way he'd never tried with anyone before.

Amy bit her lip.

"But it doesn't matter, does it? I'm always going to be human and you're always going to be Time Lord, and one day I'm going to die, and you can't stop it. Why bother trying to prolong the inevitable?"

There it was- what had truly been getting to her all night and day, the thing's words, the goblet, the idea of leaving and losing him.

Amy couldn't bear it- she needed him to say it would be ok, she just couldn't…couldn't….she didn't even know what she thought at that moment- just a mess of hot, painful emotion as she looked at him and knew she'd be gone first.

The Doctor, for his part, was simply shocked. He hadn't expected _that_. It was a subject his heart shied away from- though his mind presented it to him every day, every moment he touched her or saw her beauty, heard her laugh…

Quickly he took her into his arms, holding her tight in a fierce embrace. Amy collapsed into him- needing his reassurance, as she had ever since she was a child.

For once though, the Doctor couldn't give it.

"Amy, I knew- know that. I know, and I've made my choice." He paused, taking a deep breath, searching for the right words.

"You _have_ to understand- having you, even for a short time, has made my whole existence seem…worthy again. Like I've earned the right to see the beauties around me, to collect my own pile of 'good things'."

The Doctor smiled wryly at that, trying to coax a response from the girl in his arms. She remained quiet, watching him, and he continue- swallowing a lump in his throat.

"And, and Amy- I couldn't possibly- _ever_ willingly let you go. I asked Anil to teach you because I want you with me as long as possible- because I love having you to rely on, and watch my back- to keep me grounded and share the wonders of all of time and space. Someone to laugh with and cry with and just love."

The Doctor looked at her, taking her face in his hands as he had so many times before, features open and honest with the depth of his emotion.

"Amy, I could never let you leave my heart- even when you can't be with me."

Amy felt fresh tears spill over, and then she tilted her head up and kissed him fervently, desperately, needing him- her hands reaching up and clutching the back of his jacket- fisting in the scratchy, familiar material. He kissed back, gently, but with the same passion.

Amy couldn't stand it- the pain and the love, all of it- God it hurt! She pulled back to look at him.

"Why can't you do something to make me live longer? Slow my body clock- like Liz and Sia?"

She was desperate now, clutching at straws- but at the same time she couldn't help but see the reason behind her words- he could do it, she knew he could. She waited with baited breath for his reply.

The Doctor paused, then sighed. Amy felt the rise and fall of his chest against her own.

He didn't meet her eyes when he replied.

"I- that would be difficult, and I don't know how long it would work for. Besides- if anything happened to me, ever- you couldn't return to normalcy- you wouldn't be safe. No one would accept you if you didn't age, in the future- because that's reserved for the royals. In the past, because it's simply impossible. I…..I couldn't put that burden on you- make you live as long as Sia, alone."

Had she been feeling rational or stable, Amy could have seen the truth and reason behind his words. But she wasn't- and besides that, Amy loved her raggedy Doctor too much to respond in any other way.

"What about you? Did you ever even _consider_ that maybe your pain was a- a factor? Ever? I'm happy to sacrifice that for you- because I don't want to leave you alone!"

She'd stepped back, away from him, and now stood, barely a meter away, breathing heavily, eyes shining with tears, face red and flushed. The peaceful morning where they'd stood in her room as the Doctor combed his fingers through her hair seemed a million miles away.

The Doctor looked at her and shrugged helplessly. "I don't know how to explain…I just can't-"

He paused, knowing if he said the next words they'd shatter into an argument he wasn't willing to have.

His unspoken words hung in the air between them regardless, _I just can't make myself believe I'm worth it._

Amy stared at him for a moment, torn between pity and helpless anger.

Another moment passed and the Doctor shoved his hands into his pockets. "I'm going to their makeshift morgue, to check the bodies for signs of poisoning. It's not going to be nice. You- you don't have to come if you don't want to."

Amy really didn't want to see blue rotting corpses- and she was also pretty sure she couldn't bare another moment with the Doctor. Not right now.

She sniffed and rubbed her eyes, nodding a little. "Yeah. I- I guess I'll go hunt down Anil, see what he thinks about those Gun lessons."

The Doctor smiled, though Amy caught the flash of disappointment in his eyes.

He nodded briskly. "Ok then, I'll see you later."

He paused when Amy grabbed him by his jacket, watching her warily.

She grinned and kissed him on the lips quickly, trying to pretend what had just happened was nothing- to mask the pain twisting inside as she thought about the elixir, her choice.

"Sorry for being a drama queen. Good luck."

The Doctor chuckled. "Amy Amy Amy- I'm used to it."

Amy gasped and went to hit him over the head- the Doctor laughed and ducked out of the way, jogging to the edge of the courtyard, "later Pond."

He waved, and, smiling, Amy waved back.

She turned and went back inside, hoping she was going the right way and breathing a sigh of relief when she finally arrived at her door. She went in and opened her drawer, examining the silver goblet.

Slowly, Amy trailed her fingers over the bumpy smooth stones. She sighed, and took it with her as she went to find Gyatso. She had some questions for him.

X

The Doctor frowned. "What do you mean the bodies have gone?"

The young monk who'd told him the eerie news- that the bodies, awaiting cremation and stored outside in a separate, hastily made building to prevent any possible contamination had mysteriously disappeared- paled and shrugged.

"They are no longer there sir- nor anywhere to be seen."

The Doctor grimaced, taking out his screwdriver and changing its settings. "Show me."

The boy led him out into the snow. About 200 metres away squatted a low wooden structure with huge, hastily constructed doors. The monk struggled to heave them open and the Doctor helped.

Inside, it was empty.

There were the remnants of the dead- a slight stench of rot, and the rough woven cloths the bodies must have been wrapped in. But nothing else- not a corpse to be seen.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow, wandering inside and scanning his surroundings.

"There's no residue from a teleportation- no obvious drag marks- so how did they get the bodies out….?"

Suddenly the monk gave a cry, and the Doctor spun. The boy had disappeared. There was the sound of heavy beating wings behind him and the Time Lord spun.

"Oh." He paused, tilting his head to the side as he looked at the alien in front of him.

"You know, when I ruled out the possibility of an airborne virus, I didn't consider it quite so literally."

The huge, white, hairy bat like creature before him flapped it's granite colored wings and shrieked a battle cry, lunging at him. The Doctor ducked out of the way- but not fast enough.

One of the creatures ribbed, clawed feet caught his jacket, and the Doctor felt himself being launched into the air. Eyes wide, he reached up and clung to the thing's scaly skin as it flew with him, out of the shed, over the valley.

"Geronimooooooo!"

* * *

Oh dear- the Doctor got caught by an airborne virus. Ain't that a kick?

Poor Amy- all her life treated like she needs help when she doesn't- and now the Doctor is doing it too- even with the best intentions.

Sorry for the late update- again. Had to have jabs etc- no fun. Still hope you enjoy this chap anyway, and keep reading and enjoying!

Kat


	5. ANother note from the author

NOTICE!

Hi everyone, IMPORTANT NOTICE.

Due to mad plans and other things out of my control, from now till the 26th I'm going to be incredibly busy, so I need you to vote now. I've written 13 chapters of this fic.

EITHER SAY IF YOU WANT:

ERRATIC UPDATES FROM NOW TILL THE 26TH, DEPENDING ON REVIEWS

OR ALL CHAPS WRITTEN (UP TO CHAP 13) NOW, AND THEN A WAIT TILL POSSIBLY THE 3RD AUGUST FOR ANY MORE UPDATES

NOTE- IF THE ERRATIC UPDATES IS MOST POPULAR, IT'S MORE LIKELY I'LL BE ABLE TO WRITE MORE MORE QUICKLY.

I'm so sorry for the inconvenience, this wasn't supposed to happen. I'll post chap5 after this at about 9.30pm, but please vote ASAP.

Kat


	6. It's a Pond 'Thing'

**AN: **Hi! I'm so sorry this has taken so long, but here we go- first erratic upate. If I miss you out for quotes/prizes please PM me- I'm relying on my lovely reader's integrity ok?

This chap's quote:

_"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage."_

Ok, so Amy was offered 'eternal life' by a strange creature in Tabo Monastery. The monastery is also suffering from the outbreak of a bizarre plague dubbed the 'Indigo Chill.' The Doctor went to check out the bodies and confirm is suspicions of the disease being in reality poison. However, the body's weren't there and he was carried away by a giant bat- the 'airborne virus'. Ok?

Here we go!

Enjoy!

* * *

"It's the same one!" Gyatso's eyes were wide as he stared at the goblet Amy had just put on the table in front of him.

The redhead nodded with grim satisfaction. "Yeah, thought so. Ok, we need to-"

She broke off as there was a chorus of shouts and screams outside, and over it all, echoing but just audible, the Doctor, shouting "Geronimoooooo" and sounding absolutely terrified.

Amy bolted from the room, the goblet clutched tightly in her slender fingers with their bright blue painted nails. Gyatso wasn't far behind as she burst out into the harsh mountain sunlight to see human like figure being whisked away by a _creature_ which looked like a giant grey and white bat.

Amy caught herself, not human like- Time Lord, _"we came first…" _She smiled to herself at the memory, then spun round to face Gyatso, fire burning through her in fierce determination. "We need to follow him. Is there any way across the valley?"

Gyatso nodded. "A bridge…but it's at least an hours ride away, and I don't know that it's safe…"

Amy felt her stomach drop at the mention of riding- having never ridden a horse, but she nodded. "Ok then- we've got no time to lose, do we?"

X

The Doctor was pretty sure getting carried like dead meat over a himalayan valley by a giant bat like alien was one of the last things he'd ever wished to do. But it would make a pretty good story if he lived.

The Doctor grinned even as the bat creature flew into an enormous cave on the other side of the valley, so big he couldn't even see the edges as he was flown towards it- only darkness.

The Time Lord noticed with relief there was a path leading up to the cavern- probably belonging to Sherpas living in the mountains, though the humans had clearly long since gone.

Maybe there was a chance for someone to come after him- or for him to escape…

Out of the afternoon sunlight, the temperature dropped dramatically, and the Doctor was plunged into near total darkness. He strained his eyes to see and held tight to the things claws as he felt air rushing past him.

Finally, after what felt like forever but what the Time Lord knew to be exactly 8 minutes and 26 seconds, a light- faint and blue like it was filtered through the mountains' icy casings. But that wasn't what it was.

The Doctor surveyed his surroundings as he was flown past. Flown past row after row of sleeping bat-things, linked to tubes which glowed slightly blue, hundreds and hundred of them, and all the tubes leading to one place- one spot, where a huge metal vat sat in the middle of what looked like a construction area, with at least twenty of the bat creatures walking round and monitoring the vat and the tubes- walking hunched with their leathery coal coloured wings folded on their backs.

The Doctor nodded to himself, in a quick, jerky, panicked movement. "Ok. Right then."

He gave a shout as the creature swung him forwards onto the earthy ground before a group of batlike creatures. The Doctor landed on his hands and knees, grazing them. He got up quickly, feeling a slender, spider like hand grab the back of his jacket, and brushed himself off, looking at the Bat-creatures, who stared right back at him.

The alien tried a smile at the other aliens.

"Hello, I'm the Doctor- who are you?"

X

The one advantage of riding a magnificent dappled grey mare was that Amy got to snuggle up to one of Anil's muscular students- who was kind of hot in a martial arts, well built, _gorgeous body_ sort of way.

Amy giggled a little and pressed her face into his rough clothes as he rode the horse at a full out gallop. She was pretty sure he warmed a little beneath the clothes- unused to this sort of attention from a woman.

Amy bit her lip to keep herself from giggling more and held her arms tightly around his hard stomach, truly holding on for dear life- but still loving the thrill of being on top of this huge creature as they raced through the snow- with Gyatso and the young monk Sonam, who'd been their sort of guide, in the lead, and Anil in the rear.

The mountains sped past- ridges of ice and snow and dark scars of rock jutting through, only to be replaced by more of the same. The sky was dark grey- there could have been a storm coming, as the previously sunny day was getting darker by the second.

Amy concentrated on the thought of the Doctor.

They weren't exactly sure they were going the right way- but the bat-thing had headed in the right direction, and Gyatso knew of a huge network of caves on the other side of the valley- called the Caverns of Spirits for fairly obvious reasons.

But what the Sherpas who used to shelter there on occasion had presumed were the dead, rattling their bones and making strange, unearthly noises sounded a lot like the work of an alien bat.

Amy grinned. Her perspective had changed a lot- but in some ways it was the same as it had been ever since she was seven. If something unusual, out of the ordinary, frightening, brilliant, inexplicable happened- she always had the same answer.

Aliens- or the Doctor.

She was beginning to find she was usually right- and she loved it.

Sonam shouted and pointed ahead, turning to check Amy, her rider and Anil had seen it too- the bridge they were supposed to cross, stretching for what seemed forever across the valley. Amy wondered how on Earth they'd got it across in the first place, then felt a sick feeling of butterflies as she saw the way the wood and rope bridge was slippy with ice and trembled in the slightest breeze.

Amy closed her eyes and saw the Doctor's face grinning back at her, only to slip away and be replaced by the silver goblet…Had she made the right choice?

Amy couldn't think about that right now. Instead she felt herself breathe a sigh of relief as they came to a stop and she helped down by a blushing monk, her muscles aching.

She looked at the rickety wooden bridge in apprehension- at how it stretched across to the other side of the valley- at the barely visible grey line- the path to the huge black mouth of the cavern they needed to get to, to find and rescue the Doctor.

Maybe someone else would have trembled, shouted in frustration, worried about how much time there was. But not Amy- instead she turned to Sonam and Gyatso, gave them a small, tight smile and stepped onto the bridge, feeling it give a little beneath her as it took her weight.

She had a plan.

X

The biggest bat-thing stepped forwards, it's claws scratching the stone, it's four black slanted eyes glistening. It opened its mouth- full of thin, sharp, needle like teeth.

"We are the Kelelawar." It's voice was rasping and old. The Doctor's smile widened a little, though his eyes became guarded.

"Yes, I know _what_ you are, I asked _who_ you were- because you're a _very_ long way from Cantos 7."

The creatures shifted in surprise, clicking and hissing at each other, eyes flicking from side to side. The leader spoke again.

"We will tell you _who _we are if you tell us who and what _you_ are really."

The Doctor smiled. "Well- as to who- I'm the Doctor, just the Doctor- I like to think of myself as this planet's protector." The leader and several other's bridled- their long white fur raising along their backs between their wings. The Doctor noticed.

He kept smiling congenially, shrugging away from the Kelelawar holding him. "As to what- well, lets see who you are first, eh?"

The group of Kelelawar moved away, huddling together, their wings a black leathery wall as they conferred in hissed voices. One stayed with the Doctor- and he grinned up at it.

"Now that's not suspicious, is it?"

X

Amy was about halfway across the bridge when it started to really groan, as Anil stepped on at the other end.

Had she been letting herself give in to her feelings, the Scot would have been a trembling wreck as she stepped carefully onto the next piece of wood, and the next, holding tight onto the frayed rope keeping her from falling into the valley way too far below her.

At least she assumed it was a very long way below her- Amy hadn't actually looked down yet- instead she concentrated on the other side, the two wooden poles holding the bridge, the safe, solid stone and the snow blanketing it.

Breathing deeply, she took another step. The bridge creaked.

Amy closed her eyes for just a second. Took another deep breath. Felt the straining rope beneath her fingers.

_I am not going to die here. I am __not__ leaving him alone when I could stay with him longer._

She opened her eyes.

Amy took another step, then another. She was barely metres away from the end when it happened.

When she heard a creaking groan- higher pitched than the others, and a scattering of rocks. When she turned and saw the bridge beginning to fall into the valley- Anil barely a quarter of the way across.

Amy ran the short distance to safe ground, not caring about where she put her weight- throwing herself towards the rocks and bruising her hands and clinging onto a ledge to stop herself falling back.

As quickly as she could she edged along the narrow ledge so Sonam and Gyatso could get onto the ground- the rider was on the other side of the valley with the horses.

But Anil was only halfway.

Amy watched, wide eyed as the bridge seemed to fall in slow motion, Anil sprinting the rest of the way, moving past splintering pieces of wood as if they weren't even there- then running _up_hill, so fast he was like a cheetah or a mountain tiger, powerfully going further.

But the bridge was falling fast, tumbling into the valley, and even though Anil was three quarters of the way across now he was having to use his arms to pull himself further as he ran. It was like a monkey, and Amy could see his biceps bulging and sweat pouring off him.

Strangely though, Anil's face remained calm. As the other end of the bridge began to fall back, the last part began to fall. Amy, Gyatso and Sonam watched with baited breath.

Then, using the bridge to push up off- Anil _jumped_.

He curled his muscles, crouched down, and then leapt to the rock- Sonam and Gyatso reaching out to catch him, though he didn't need it.

Breathing heavily, Anil smoothed his robes and looked into the valley as the bridge feel into it like a wooden snake.

"We'll have to find another way back later," Anil said, turning to smile at Amy, who just stared at him in open amazement.

"You are _so_ cooler than Jackie Chan."

Anil blinked and smiled in bemusement. "I don't know who your Jackie Chan is, but thankyou I think?"

Amy shook her head, the fact that she was thousands of metres up on a perilous and narrow goat path momentarily forgotten.

"How did you _do _that?"

Anil shrugged in bashful amicability, "One of the many advantages of Gun fighting is that you hone your skills in many areas."

Amy blushed a little at that. Maybe she _would _ask the Doctor to teach her when they'd got out of here.

She looked up, past the outcrops of rock and ice to the huge, black, gaping hole in the side of the mountain where they were head, then back to Sonam, Gyatso and Anil.

It was time for her plan. Or as the Doctor would have said- 'the thing'. It was a particularly awesome 'thing'- with a distinct hint of Pond.

* * *

Ooooooh, so, what now?

And yeah- but come on, monks who know martial arts are so cool! Haha, couldn't resist. And who _are _this group of Kelelawar? Renegades? Spies? Invaders? And why is the Doctor reluctant to reveal what he is?

I'll try and update soon, not to would be cruel, and I really hope your still enjoying this fic. Please please keep the reviews coming, I'm ill and on RAF adventure training, so I seriously need the encouragement.

Thanks for reading anyway, I hope you continue to do so!

Kat


	7. Secret Ingredient

**AN: **Hi! Thanks for your reviews, as ever, I'm glad your liking this sequel. Today is the last time I can updates until the 24th as I'm going on the tall ships race, so depending on reviews depends on how many chaps I can put up today. I hope you like it though!

Congrats to 'Listening to the Radio' who got last chap's quote right- it was Lao Tzu who originally said that.

Here's this chap's quote:

"Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence." ~

Ok, so the Doc has been kidnapped by giant bats reluctant to tell him who they are. Vice versa, _he_ doesn't want to tell _them what he is. Meanwhile, Amy is coming to rescue him and Monk Anil is cooler than Jackie Chan. Gyatso is head monk, and Sonam is his sort of apprentice/ adopted son. Gyatso himself is suffering from the indigo chill, and was offered the same goblet as Amy, proving this was the source of the poison. ok?_

_Enjoy!_

_

* * *

_

Finally the Kelelawar turned back to the Doctor, batlike, feral noses wrinkled and eyes sharp. The leader spoke again.

"We are a specially assigned research team, sent by the Eyrie to try and discover the secret to eternal life. We found this planet and saw the records of a 'holy grail', on their records. We have drawn the conclusion that with the right mixture of ingredients- we can produce the mixture ourselves."

The other space bats shifted their wings, sniffed the air, and scraped the cave's stone floor in their excitement under the dull glow of whatever chemical was being passed through the tubes above their heads to the colony of Kelelawar in hibernation.

The Doctor looked back the way he'd come- at the dull glow which lit on flashes of white fur and leathery wing, and hundreds of enormous bat silhouettes hung motionless.

"Research team eh? So who are _they_?"

The bats hissed a little. The Doctor smiled.

"Nah- I don't think your 'Eyrie' sent you. I think you're a renegade band who fled from Cantos 7 after being accused of mass murder- after you tried to take over the capital, and are now searching for a way to escape your death penalty once and for all."

A clawed hand grabbed the Doctor's jacket roughly, lifting him off the ground. Another difference between the Kelelwar and Earth bats- apart from size and the capacity for human speech, was that they were essentially humanoid- and so had long, slender, wiry arms as well as their wings.

The Doctor grinned as his feet disconnected with the rock. "So I'm right then?"

In response, several of the bats hissed and flapped their wings, making towards the Doctor with their huge needle teeth bared in feral snarls.

The leader made a high screeching sound and the Doctor screwed up his face as it pierced his sensitive ears. The rest of the Kelelawar fell still.

The leader stepped forwards, its claws scraping the stone. Soon it's long teeth were level with the Doctor's eyes. The Doctor looked inside the creature's mouth with wary apprehension.

"How do you know this?"

The Doctor raised his eyebrows. "I told you, I'm the Doctor." He looked over, past the huge vat that dominated the cave, towards one of the bats carrying a clipboard, passing an advanced looking computer monitor.

"Check your scans for any evidence of the Doctor, or a little blue box."

He smiled. The leader of the Kelelawar eyed him for a second before snapping an order. Instantly a space-bat typed in a search query. There was a moment of silence, and then it took off- landing next to the leader and whispering in his he ear- too low for even the Doctor to hear.

The leader's eyes widened and the Doctor smiled. The Kelelawar made a gesture for the other, holding the Doctor, to drop him. The Doctor fell to his hands and knees again, and grimaced at a crack in his shin as he hit the rock.

Hissing with pain, he got to his feet- instantly masking his agony.

The leader stepped forwards. "Tell me what you are!"

He sounded eager, excited, as if he had a idea already.

The Doctor watched him coolly. "You still haven't admitted _who_ you are."

The creature laughed- a hissing, screeching sound almost as bad as the Weeping Angels.

"We are what remains of the Lastralli colony on Cantos 7. We raided the outlying regions as a band and then led an attack on the capital- half of us were killed in that one attack, and the rest hunted. We fled- so far, until finally we discovered this planet."

The creature hissed, gesturing to the enormous cave with its spindly hand. "We will convert the native population into appropriate feed- an easy enough task, considering several of us were once Royal Scientists. Then we will take over this feeble, primitive planet once and for all- and we will discover the key to eternal life. We will have defeated the Eyrie once and for all!"

The other Kelelawar let out a screeching chorus of triumphant cries at that, raising their slender arms. The Doctor watched them as they calmed down and licked his lips nervously. The leader stepped forwards, black eyes gleaming.

"So tell me, Doctor,What. Are. You?"

The Doctor grinned uneasily. "Me? Oh, I'm just a human, see? Arms, legs, all human…stuff."

He held out his arms, putting on his best 'I'm a human and not a Time Lord' expression.

Because when you were making a mixture for eternal life- there was one essential and incredibly rare ingredient which could end your search in seconds.

The blood of a Time Lord.

X

Amy hadn't been afraid of heights until she'd stepped onto the narrow path edging up the side of the cliff. Clinging to the rock she was pressed against, she edged along the last few metres and peered into the pitch black cave which swallowed her entirely.

It was huge- an enormous cavern which seemed to go on forever.

There was the sound of something big moving above her, and Amy looked up, breathing fast. She couldn't see anything.

A warm hand landed on her shoulder, and Amy turned, smiling, expecting for some reason to see the Doctor.

Instead Anil's kind face expressed reassurance, and he didn't seem to begrudge Amy the way her face fell in disappointment as she realized who it was.

The monk smiled sympathetically at her.

"Don't worry Miss Pond, we'll get him back."

Amy nodded- staring at his tanned and wrinkled leathery face, with the empty darkness behind her, and the mountainous oblivion which was her only way back. She thought of the Doctor- taken from her, and barely brushed the idea of never seeing him again...Amy bit back a sob and stopped herself bursting into tears- of panic, fear, worry, frustration...

Instead she simply took a deep breath and turned, marching into the cool darkness of the cave, with Anil catching her when she stumbled over unseen rocks, and Gyatso and Sonam following quietly behind.

X

The Doctor struggled against the straps holding him onto the cold metal table- not bothering to try and move his left leg in case the crack in his shin bone got any worse.

He twisted his head, breathing fast as one of the Kelelwar- wearing a specially molded surgical mask- came over, holding a thin diamond shaped plate like scanner which glowed a very pale blue.

The Doctor twisted and writhed as the device scanned his body- and the radiation it emitted burned his cells and insides. He grit his teeth, trying to pretend not to be too bothered- because a human wouldn't.

Of course the Kelelawar hadn't taken his word for it, and had decided instead to scan him and make their own decision as to exactly what species he originated from.

The Doctor writhed to the left as the scanner passed over the right side of his ribcage.

He was fairly sure when they discovered two hearts, and a respiratory bypass system, they'd figure out he wasn't derived of Homo Sapiens. Hopefully though- as a renegade band without access to racial history, they wouldn't know what species he was by physical attributes. Hopefully.

The scanner stopped and the Doctor breathed a sigh of relief. There was a beep and he crack open his eyes to watch the results being taken to the Kelelawar's leader- whose name he'd learned was Grigatri.

There was a chorus of excited hisses and the Doctor leaned back in his bonds, shutting his eyes- exhausted by the pain still washing through his body.

Moments later, a sharp slap made him open his eyes again.

The Doctor frowned, spitting out a little blood where his teeth had caught his cheek and cut it.

"What was that for?"

Grigatri grinned, baring his transparent needle teeth. "You lied to us Doctor. Or should I say…..Time Lord?"

The Doctor sighed. "Yeah. I was worried you were gonna say that."

Grigatri hissed a chuckle and made a motion with his hand. His Hench men untied the Doctor and pulled him none too gently to his feet.

The Time Lord staggered a little- from the increasing weakness of his shin and the pain caused by the scanning, so the Kelelawar were supporting rather than restraining him.

He was dragged roughly to the vat. Cautiously he peered over the rusting metal sides- then wished he hadn't. Beneath a silvery surface lay hundreds of human bodies- with bright blue veins stretching across their skin. The Doctor swallowed a little bile- looking at the tubes from the vat, taking the mixture to the hibernating remnants of the Lastralli colony.

He rolled his eyes at his own stupidity.

"Of course! _That's_ what the poison was for- Haemoglobin is poisonous to you. So you somehow get them to ingest a chemical mixture which converts it into whatever else- hence the blue veins, coughs, fevers. The red blood cells no longer have the capacity to carry oxygen without haemoglobin. They were suffocating!"

The Doctor nodded to himself, the silence of the Kelelwar confirming what he knew to be true as the watched him.

"Yes, of course, then you keep feeding it to the humans till the whole planet is edible- _and_ you keep adding them to this mixture, which you're also using to create your formula for eternal life- which then gets fed directly to the rest of the colony through those tubes."

The Doctor looked up as Grigatri clapped his spindly hands.

"Well done Doctor- you really are a Time Lord." The creature cocked its head to the side. "Of course- I suppose by killing you we'll cause the extinction of your species."

Grigatri smiled a grim, cruel, toothy smile. "Poor Doctor- the very last Time Lord- you're whole species resting on your shoulders- and now you, and they, will die once and for all."

The Doctor said nothing- but his eyes, slate grey with a hint of blue, were cold, sad, and deeply angry. His face remained otherwise impassive- but Grigatri shivered under the condemnation of his glare.

He shook himself. "Get a knife- I want to add this particular _ingredient_ myself."

X

Amy gulped as she and the monks crept beneath the eerily illuminated bodies of the enormous bats, hanging from the roof of the cave, linked to the blue tubes. She caught a glimpse of a white, hairy hand and nodded to herself.

So it had been one of these which had offered her the goblet, the elixir of 'eternal life.' Amy grimaced, hoping her other assumptions were also correct.

After a few more minutes of silently tiptoeing through the half lit tunnel, hearts pounding and sweat cold on their backs- Amy and the others came to a larger opening. The main chamber was dominated by a huge metal vat- by enormous…Space-bats, which moved quickly around, fiddling with computers and writing on clipboards.

A commotion by the vat drew Amy's eyes, and instantly she turned to it, her eyes already having adjusted to the half dark.

She gasped and went to run forwards- stopped only by Anil's strong hands on her shoulders.

"Not yet!" He hissed in her ear, though she could feel the concern in his eyes as he watched the scene unfold before them.

The Doctor, held with his arms behind his back- a spindly hand in his hair pulling his head back and baring his throat, was struggling desperately. Amy quickly noticed the red mark on his face, the way he barely put any weight on his left leg- the way his skin was paler than normal.

She had seconds to take this in though, before another Space-Bat, bigger than the others, took a long, wicked looking saber like object, and held it's gleaming edge to the Doctor's exposed throat.

The Time Lord froze and Amy's hands curled into fists as his nostrils flared and he regarded the blade warily.

As the Space-bat things began to move the Doctor round the vat, so his blood would spill into it, Amy was already on the move- followed by Anil as they crept quickly across the cavern floor, scrambling up the rocks by the opposite side of the vat.

Behind them, Sonam and Gyatso remained in the shelter of the slight outcrop they'd hid behind.

X

The Doctor was breathing heavily. He struggled against the Kelelawar holding him as Grigatri went to line the blade up to his throat again.

The Time Lord kicked one of them with his right leg and elbowed another, swinging his head back to try and head butt one of them. A sharp blow to the stomach- and the sharper crack of two of his ribs breaking as Grigatri swung the metal base of the blade into the Doctor's chest made him bend over double, coughing.

The metal object hit him again, in the stomach, winding him. Yet another blow to the back of his legs brought the Doctor to his knees as the reverberation of the impact shivered through the crack in his shin.

The Doctor was hauled once again to his feet, robbed of the strength to fight back, gasping and sweating. He looked at Grigatri.

"Please. Please don't do this. You said yourself- you'll kill the Time Lords. That's genocide- you don't want that blood on your hands."

Grigatri smiled his toothy, bestial grin, placing the blade against the Doctor's skin, pressing in a little, so a line of blood trickled across the blade. The Doctor grit his teeth.

"I think that's a risk I'm willing to take, Doctor."

* * *

Aaaaah! So what's going to happen now? Please review and I'll try and update ASAP, hope you enjoyed it!

Kat


	8. Traitor

**AN: **Glad your enjoying the story, this is likely to be the last update til the 24th/25th July, although I'll try. Well done to Ninja girl Rebecca, H. was the person who said last chap's quote, 1 point!

This chap:

"_Love is a choice you make from moment to moment." ~_

Ok, so the space bats- or Kelelawar, are actually a band of renegades, trying to turn human beings into food and make the elixir for eternal life. And as it turns out the blood of a Time Lord is a miracle ingredient- step forward captured Doctor. Amy's on her way, but can she get there before Bat leader Grigatri slits her Time Lord's throat? What about Gyatso- head monk, Sonam, his apprentice, and Anil- martial arts master. Will they be able to help- or are they simply walking into danger...?

Enjoy!

* * *

The Doctor shut his eyes, thinking. _I'm sorry_.

He wasn't sure to who or for what- but he felt, at that moment, very sorry for a lot of things, and so he hoped it counted. He waited for Grigatri to draw the blade across his throat- draining his blood and killing him once and for all…

"OI!"

The Doctor's eyes snapped open- he knew that voice.

Sure enough, there was Amy Pond- still wrapped up like a redheaded Eskimo, looking as fierce and beautiful as she had since he'd met her again in Leadworth- dressed up as a police woman who'd handcuffed him to her radiator.

The Doctor grinned, momentarily forgetting the blade at his throat.

"Amy!"

Amy smiled back, and Anil joined her on the other side of the vat.

"Hello Doctor- been busy?"

The Doctor shrugged, still hanging over the vat, a knife to his throat, held by the Kelelawar. "I think I annoyed them."

Amy rolled her eyes, grinning. "You think?"

Grigatri- who'd been watching the exchange with a faint expression of disgust, interrupted. "What a lovely reunion. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to add the final ingredient."

He went to slit the Doctor's throat-but Amy shouted over to him, and his spindly fingers froze.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

The redhead's accent came across loud and clear as she dug in her pocket and withdrew a tiny transparent perfume tester bottle.

The Doctor squinted, raising an eyebrow at her, and the girl grinned.

"Doctor, you're gonna love this." She turned to Grigatri. "Oi, you, Space Bat."

Grigatri hissed but turned to Amy, keeping his knife at the Doctor's thoat. The Time Lord could feel the cool metal resting on his skin, scraping it a little. He really hoped Amy's plan would work- whatever it was.

"It's pretty obvious this stuff is poison." Amy said, holding up the perfume bottle. "The 'elixir' one of you offered to me last night, that you told me to drink."

The Doctor's eyes widened, wondering why she hadn't told him. Amy didn't meet his gaze. Instead she continued to address the Kelelawar.

"And you lot haven't exactly been trying to hide your presence- when you took the Doctor and headed in the direction of the local 'haunted caverns', it was pretty clear where you'd gone. So all we needed to do was to get here and get one of you to drink some of this."

The bat's hissed and the Doctor raised both eyebrows. Amy caught his look. "Yeah, ok, maybe not the most advanced plan, BUT!" She caught the attention of the Kelelawar again.

"Looks like I lucked out, because, if I was to, say…" She paused, unscrewing the lid of the perfume tester. "Tip this into your vat, then I might very well poison all your friends still asleep."

She stared at Grigatri hard, holding the bottle over the vat. "I'd do it. So help me- I would. Let. Him. Go."

Grigatri watched Amy for a moment, then withdrew the knife from the Doctor's throat. The Time Lord was pulled back from the edge of the vat, hissing in pain as his broken bones were jolted.

He felt Amy's worried eyes on him and tried to smile reassuringly.

Her attention shifted back to Grigatri as he stepped forwards. "What now girl? What do you want us to do?"

Amy took a deep breath. "Leave this planet. Leave and never return."

The Doctor couldn't help smiling in pride, watching her face off against the huge bat-creature over the grisly vat, her little perfume bottle clutched tightly in her fingers.

Grigatri shook his head. "No."

Amy raised her eyebrows. She began to tip the bottle- though it was clear she didn't want to. Then suddenly, a slender hairy white arm wrapped around her neck from behind.

Amy screamed, dropping the bottle. It fell just outside the vat, shattering on the rocks. Amy's hands flew to the arm around her throat and the Doctor struggled, shouting, "Amy!"

Anil, next to her, threw a punch at the creature and it bit him hard- it was like the Kelelawar but not, smaller- about the size of a small human, and it had no wings. But other than that, it was just as they were, including it's sharp teeth.

Anil let out a shout, clutching his bloody hand. Amy turned her head and bit into the things hairy arm. The creature bit her back in the shoulder and her mouth opened in pain. She stilled as blood trickled from her shoulder.

The Doctor watched, eyes wide in panic. The thing turned, so it was revealed, and Grigatri smiled.

"Hello Sonam."

* * *

Oooooh, traitor! Now what? Hmmmm. Sorry, super short chap, to pass the time, please do send me all your conspiracy theories on where you think this is going, take care and I really hope your still enjoying this!

Kat


	9. Injury doesn't have to be physical

**AN: **hello again! sorry this took so long, hopefully updates will be more regular now though :) we came 12th out of 25 in our class, and 14th out of 69 in the whole tall ships race :D back in hk now, so time zones will be a bit mad,but hopefully we'll all manage.

This chap's quote:

"_Pains of love be sweeter far Than any other pleasures are." ~_

Right so- bat creatures, led by Grigatri, are actually a group of renegades looking for the elixir of life. Meanwhile they've been poisoning humans to make them edible. They tried to poison Amy, it didn't work.

However they kidnapped the Doctor- and it turns out a Time Lord's blood is a pretty good ingredient for a chemical soup of immortality. They were about to drain his blood when Amy (ginger eskimo) turned up with three other monks- a martial arts master, gyatso, the monastery 'boss, and sonam, gyatso's adopted son. She tried to pour the poison into the bat's elixir, but it fell and smashed when she was grabbed by a strange, bat like creature from behind...

Hopefully that's caught you up- ok, enjoy!

* * *

Amy's eyes widened as she swung her head round to stare into the creatures half human face. And she could sort of see it- the features of the first monk she and the Doctor had met- the one who meant so much to Gyatso- twisted almost beyond recognition.

"Sonam?" She breathed. The thing hissed, and she recognized the rasping voice from that of the one in her bedroom the night before, offering her the poisoned goblet.

"My brothers could not convince each one of you as I could- could not hide in the monastery, picking out the weak. But _I, _half human and able to change my shape- I could poison each of you. One. By. One."

Amy frowned, shaking her head, unable to believe his betrayal- though in a way his explanation made sense.

Suddenly Anil looked around. "Wait. Where's Gyatso?"

The Sonam Bat hissed. "I killed him."

Anil's eyes widened. "No. No- you wouldn't! You were like a son to him!"

The thing nodded. "Yes, an easy position of power- to remain on the good side of the old man. He is no longer of use."

Anil shook his head, pale, still clutching his bleeding hand. "_No._" He whispered in disbelief.

"Well Doctor- it seems your friend has failed." Grigatri said, smugly, as the three on the other side remained still, Amy and Anil frozen in shock more than anything else.

The Doctor sighed, then smiled at Amy bravely. "You're never a failure to me." He said. She smiled back.

"Nor you. Though you at least seem to succeed more often in daring rescues."

The Doctor looked up at Grigatri. "Is there truly no way I can make you let us go?"

Grigatri shook his head. "Not in a billion millennia."

The Doctor grimaced. "Well then, I'm sorry."

Grigatri cocked his head to the side, eyes flashing. The Doctor raised his voice.

"Because some bats on this planet drink blood. Animal blood, human blood…Those bats need it to survive, it's an essential part of their life. But it would seem, for bats not of Earth, that the opposite would be the case. That a healthy human's blood may be exactly what they don't need to survive."

He nodded to Anil, and, eyes wide, the monk held his bloody arm over the vat, letting the blood trickle into a drop.

"_NO!" _Grigatir screeched, climbing into the air. But he was too late.

Sonam went to grab Anil, letting go of Amy, and Anil saw him. He smiled at the Doctor, and bowed his head to Amy. "It was an honour."

Then he leapt into the vat. Grigatri, in the air, tried to catch him, but he was too late. Anil went below the surface of the mixture, his blood mixing with the silvery substance, and he didn't come back up.

The Doctor managed to get away from the Kelelawar holding him, which were too distracted by the vat. He went round to Amy, pointing his screwdriver at Sonam and knocking him out.

Amy threw her arms around the Time Lord, tears in her eyes at Anil's unexpected sacrifice. The Doctor flinched as she jolted his broken ribs and she looked up at him. He nodded to the vat.

The mixture inside had turned a weird mauve colour, and now it was being sent to the bats still sleeping the cave. A high pitched beeping started, and the bats screeched, all of them climbing into the air.

Amy and the Doctor crouched as the creatures flew past, in a rush, out of the cave.

"Why are they flying away?"

Amy shouted over the flapping of wings and the ever increasing beeping. The Doctor peered over the edge of the vat where the mauve substance was starting to bubble.

"It's reached critical- it's gonna blow!"

Amy's eyes widened and she grabbed the Doctor's hand as they made their way down the Doctor limping heavily.

They got to the floor and started to run, the Doctor gritting his teeth against the pain. Suddenly Amy was lifted off her feet by a screaming Grigatri.

"_NO! WE HAD NEARLY WON! NOOO!"_

Amy pounded against the talons holding her. Around them the tubes started to burst, the bats screaming in their sleep. Mauve liquid sprayed onto Girgatri and he screamed as if he'd been burnt, dropping the scot.

She got up and started to run, catching the Doctor's hand again, together they stumbled out onto the path, running down- the height the least of their worries.

Outside, the bats hovered in the air, watching the cave, flapping their great wings.

_**BOOM!**_

The cave exploded, showering Amy and the Doctor in mauve liquid. They threw their arms over their heads as a cascade of rock and chemical, metal and softer things they'd rather not thing about bounced off their bodies, accompanied by the screams of the bats trapped inside.

Moments later, there was silence once more, only the slow beating of the bat's wings.

Slowly, Amy and the Doctor looked up.

One of the bats flew over. "We apologise for Grigatri's actions."

The Doctor raised his eyebrows. "Yeah? Didn't seem that sorry when he was trying to kill us."

The creature hissed. "Grigatri was mad, but smart and powerful- a good leader. Perhaps his plan could have worked. But it did not- and we are sick of fighting."

The Doctor cocked his head to the side. 'Why are you telling me this?"

The creature smiled. "We will take you back to your ship, Time Lord, for a favor."

The Doctor frowned, but he was smiling as he eyed the valley that would be impossible to cross any other way that wouldn't take days, if not weeks. "What kind of favor?"

X

Amy and the Doctor waved to the bats, then stepped back into the TARDIS.

Amy smiled. "I guess they just wanted to start fresh."

The Doctor shrugged. "I think most creatures do at some point."

Amy grinned, then frowned when she noticed the way he was clutching his ribs and leaning against the TARDIS doors.

"What's wrong?"

The Doctor shook his head. "N-nothing. Guess I'm just not used to-"

He broke off as he collapsed onto the ground, out of exhaustion and the pain from his injuries, which had got worse after being flown across the valley.

Amy made a little sound of surprise, shaking him. "Doctor! Doctor? Wake up!"

She slapped his face and the Doctor opened his eyes, frowning. "Ugh, thanks Amy, that helps." He said, weakly.

Amy bit her lip. "Sorry. What do I do?"

The Doctor leaned back on the floor of the TARDIS. "Gimme a sec."

Amy dug around in her pockets, withdrawing packet of aspirin- she popped two into her hands and held them to the Doctor's mouth.

"Here. Swallow." The Doctor opened his mouth, and she dropped them in.

He went to swallow, then his eyes widened as he tasted the chemicals on the tablets.

Quickly he turned his head, spitting them out and choking violently, coughing and coughing until blood flecked his lips whilst Amy watched in astonishment.

Finally he collapsed back, exhausted.

Amy put a hand on his forehead. "Are you alright? I'm sorry- what did I…?"

The Doctor stopped her. "Aspirin is poisonous to me!"

Amy frowned. "What, you're allergic?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes, the pain and exhaustion starting to get to him.

"No, Amy. It's poison to me. As much as you'd like to believe otherwise, I'm not human. And I never will be."

* * *

Awww, poor doc is pretty beaten and exhausted... (plus, Rain, aspirin!)

So maybe they've defeated one enemy, but their difficulties are far from over, and will the Doc be ok? what's next?

I can tell you it will involve homicidal roses...

Ok, please do review, 5 reviews should get you next day update (it'll be a bit slower while I catch up) and if you guess the quote, please let me know how many points you're on, having read the reviews but been unable to reply I can tell you all guesses have been right- sorry to be unfair and make you count, but I just want to concentrate on catching up if that's ok.

Thanks, as ever for reading, I hope you're all still enjoying it,

Kat


	10. Guest star

**AN: **yes, I'm a horrible author, and I'm sorry this has taken me so long, bit of author's block+jet lag= blank microsoft word document= very unhappy Kat.

However, three good things happened to help. First, Lily was completely awesome with her prize (all prizewinners have been of course.) Second, I discovered the ipod challenge thing which I'm working on now, and a fic called 'Only Human' about doctorxamy. 3rd, the incredible DaiskiAnimeJ on DeviantArt did sketches from the L Word! You can find them here: .com/art/Moonhawk424-DW-Sketches-173188207

and I LOVE LOVE LOVE them- they're perfect. Hopefully she may even do some more soon. Kat+ awesome sketches= happiness.

So, you finally get an update. this chap's quote is one of my faves for this fic, and here it is:

_I laugh, I love, I hope, I try I hurt, I need, I fear, I cry. And I know you do the same things too, So we're really not that different, me and you._

So, the Doc and Amy defeated the evil bat things, but now the Doctor's hurt and Amy nearly poisoned him (with aspirin.) The Doctor felt the need to point out rather bluntly that he wasn't human (maybe due to broken ribs and near poisoning.)

So what now?

Enjoy!

* * *

Amy blinked, staring at the Doctor. "I- I'm sorry. I know that."

The Doctor stared at her for a moment, blinking and confused, and hurt. He pulled a face and pushed himself up, wincing at his injuries. Still he managed to wrap his arms around her- his Pond, pressing his face into her hair.

"No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so….abrupt." He pulled back and stared into the girl's eyes.

"Forgive me?"

Amy looked at him, eyes wide, feeling small and wishing, with all her heart, that she could be like him. She saw the worry in his eyes and smiled a little.

"Yeah. Of course."

The Doctor smiled and pressed his lips to hers in a sweet kiss, then kissed her nose, lingering on the soft, freckled skin. He leaned his forehead against hers, smiling.

"Amy, you're brilliant, just the way you are."

Amy blinked-it was like he'd read her mind. The Doctor grinned cheekily and tapped his nose.

"I'll explain in a minute- but first." He grit his teeth. "Could you help me up- we need to get to the medical bay."

Amy blinked again- having nearly completely forgotten the Doctor's injuries. She swore at herself internally for being so self absorbed, and felt the Doctor's finger touch her lips.

She looked up, frowning, and the Doctor smiled- "I can manage this pain, you know I've had worse-"

And there it was, an image, bright and real, of the Doctor's scarred body- it seemed to be broadcast straight into Amy's mind. She blinked and shook her head.

"What the?"

The Doctor grit his teeth. "Ok, come on- please Amy, medical bay."

Amy took his arm and put it round her shoulders, then together they stood. The Doctor leaned on her a little, though he seemed to be trying to take most of his own weight, breathing hard and fast.

Amy rolled her eyes and tugged his arm further over her shoulder so he was practically unbalanced- and forced to lean on her.

"I can manage!" She said, annoyed.

The Doctor chuckled. "Sorry Pond. Useless chivalrous instinct- I'll try to smother it, promise."

Amy would have elbowed him in the ribs if she wasn't pretty sure they were broken from the way he'd been acting. Instead she huffed and pretended to ignore him. The Doctor smirked.

Slowly, they managed to get up the first set of steps, and then the next. Together they made their way down a corridor, then turned left down another, leaning into each other for support.

Amy noticed the Doctor's irregular breathing, the way sweat was pouring off him.

"How much pain are you in?" She breathed.

There was a flash and suddenly she felt it- the way the crack in her left shin had widened and was beginning to break- the way the two ribs she'd thought were broken were actually fractured where they joined her sternum, in serious danger of puncturing her lungs. The way she was still weak from the radiation from the Kelelawar's scanning….

But it wasn't _her_, it was _him._ The pain faded and Amy looked at the Doctor in shock. He stared into her panicked face, eyes pleading as she hesitated.

"Amy, can we just get there, please?"

Amy nodded, trying to mask her panic, though she practically dragged the Doctor the rest of the way into the TARDIS' white and blue medical bay. In the middle of the room was a stretcher with a sheet and pillow, and along several trolleys and counters were monitors, medicines and bandages.

The Doctor staggered to the stretcher and nodded, breathless, to a roll of lilac bandages. Amy grabbed them and handed them to him. He winced as he started trying to undo his shirt, each breath hurting.

Amy's hands gently pushed his away, and the Doctor leant back as she pushed off his jacket- fought fiercely with his bowtie, and then, slowly, started to undo the buttons of his shirt.

The Doctor closed his eyes. "Thankyou."

Amy smirked as she ran her hands over his smooth chest, letting her hands linger on the smooth skin. "Don't worry, I'm enjoying it."

The Doctor smirked, and suddenly she got another flash of his thoughts- of how much he wanted to kiss her right now, to take her in his arms, how his skin burned where she touched it…

Amy blushed, she hadn't expected _that._ The Doctor grimaced and flushed a little too. "Sorry."

Amy took the bandages, going to wrap them around the injured area- a nod from the Doctor confirming she was doing it right.

"What's that about anyway, it's like….like I can read your mind."

The Doctor frowned as he tried to think of the best way to explain. "You can, sort of."

Amy frowned in response, confused, gently wrapping the lilac bandage around the doctor's torso- it started to glow with a dull blue light.

"Sort of?"

The Doctor grimaced, leaning back, trying not to breathe in his lungs- as if that were even possible. He supposed he could use his respiratory bypass system, but that seemed to be going a bit too far.

"Well, Time Lords are very…_active_ , psychically- and humans are very open to receive psychic waves. You're so inexperienced, you just let anything and everything into your head."

Amy raised an eyebrow- gently pressing down on the end of the bandage as she'd seen the Doctor do when he fixed her ankle and feeling it cool and harden beneath her fingers as it went midnight blue.

"Yeah, but I don't normally get all sorts of random projections into my head?"

The Doctor glanced away. "Well. Yeah. To send someone a message without contact you've got to um…feel…close to them. Want to be…close…to them."

Amy looked at him, smiling. "And you want to be 'close' to me?"

The Time Lord rolled his eyes, then leaned forwards to kiss her cheek, her jaw, her lips- any part of her face he could reach.

"I want to be close to you all the time- every second of every moment of my existence, Miss Pond."

Amy closed her eyes, loving the soft brush of his lips, then she looked up at him. "Come on, I've got to fix you up."

The Doctor pointed to a green tube of gel. "That next, I'll have to do it."

Amy frowned. "Why?" She picked up the tube but didn't give it to him.

The Doctor frowned, he was too exhausted to argue, though already he could feel the lilac bandages aiding the healing process in his ribs, soothing the pain.

"I have to apply it exactly where the crack in my shin is."

Amy stared him down, fierce as ever. "So show me."

The Doctor sighed- seeing he'd get nowhere arguing. "Alright."

He showed her, though clearly he was trying to dull the pain as much as he could. Gingerly, Amy squeezed some of the gel onto her fingers. It tingled a little. She very carefully spread it over the area where the Doctor's shin was cracked..

He gasped, and she saw his fingers clutch the sheets. When she was done he nodded to some off white bandages, which seemed to be made of some sort of silky, sticky substance- like spider webs.

Amy frowned, shaking it off her fingers, then wrapping it around his leg, as carefully as she could. The gauze like substance stuck to his skin off its own accord, and soon the Scot had finished.

The Doctor sighed, then got up, carefully putting weight on his leg and hobbling over to a monitor, picking up a jar, shaking out a few orange pills and swallowing them quickly.

Amy watched him dubiously. "Are they healthy?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Better than aspirin." He smiled to show he was only joking, but Amy couldn't help flinching, thinking about how different he was to her- how she'd nearly killed him unintentionally.

Gently the Doctor put a hand on her cheek. "I'm still me. If you want me?"

Amy shook her head at the nervous undertone in his voice. "Of course I do. I'm stupid and mental and human, but I will _always_ want you. Need you."

The Doctor wrapped an arm around her slender waist, holding her closer and pressing his face into her hair. "Amy Pond- you are too good for me."

Amy laughed, looking back to smile at the Doctor, messing up his hair. "Maybe I am. But that would be pretty difficult."

X

They sat in the kitchen, Amy's kitchen in the TARDIS, and drank their tea- Amy leaning her head against the Doctor's chest, careful to avoid his bandages.

She smiled up at him. "It'll make a good story, won't it?"

They still hadn't left the Himalayas- the Doctor hadn't quite finished healing after 45 minutes, though he would soon. He was able to walk again- it was his ribs which were really taking time.

The Doctor smiled- thinking about the bats, and the monks, the elixir of eternal life- and Amy with her perfume bottle…

"It would." He said, smiling. "You were brilliant."

Amy grinned. "Careful, or you'll make me get all self important."

The Doctor laughed a little, breathily, trying to avoid jerking his ribs. "I don't think that's possible."

He leaned down and kissed her head, Amy could smell a hint of his tea on his breath, and she leaned her head back further to look up into his laughing, loving green-grey eyes.

"Jack would have liked it, right?" She asked, thinking about the captain the Doctor had told her about so avidly.

The Doctor grinned. "Good old Captain Jack. Yes, he'd have loved that story."

"What story?"

Amy and the Doctor looked up, startled to see a tall, handsome man with brown hair, blue eyes, and a blue military jacket standing in the doorway.

None other than a certain Captain Jack Harkness.

* * *

Ooooooh, guest appearance! What's Jack doing then? Why'd he need to find them? What'll happen next?

I'll update as soon as I can, in the mean time I highly suggest you check out those sketches- they're really fantastic.

As ever, thankyou for reading, please do take the time to review, and I hope you're still enjoying the story!

Kat


	11. Beware the roses

**AN: **Hey! Sorry this has taken so long, still minor writers issues- it's miserable, but I'm getting over it. Anyway, I'll stop whining now. Right, glad you all seem to still be enjoying the story, here's the next chapter!

This chap's quote:

_"Love life and life will love you back. Love people and they will love you back."_

The Doc and Amy, finally sharing some alone time- and who should turn up but a certain Cap'n Jack Harkness...

Enjoy!

* * *

Captain Jack flashed the couple a charming smile, checking out the gorgeous slender redhead, and the bloke- who wasn't too bad either.

"Cap'n Jack Harkness, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

He took the redhead's hand and kissed it, bowing his head. When he came back up he flashed a wink at the brunette she was leaning against, who was watching him with a measure of exasperated, mischievous disapproval with his brilliant grey-green eyes.

"Jack. Stop it."

Jack blinked. He wasn't used to that. He grinned and raised his hands in the air, "What? I'm just saying-"

He broke off as realization crashed over him. He stared at the brunette more closely- the odd clothes (the _bow tie_), the way his features were young but his eyes were old, the messy brown hair, the way he held his tea just so…

"D-Doctor?"

The Doctor shrugged, and the redhead sat up so he could stand up. He walked stiffly, and Jack could see some pretty high tech bandages from Heran 9 wrapped around his chest peeking through his collar.

"Hello Jack."

Jack shook his head- staring at the stranger in the TARDIS, saying he was the Doctor- _the_ Doctor, the man he….loved.

"You- you…I don't…what happened?"

The Doctor titled his head to the side, putting his hands in his pockets, standing about a foot away from the Captain in the doorway. The redheaded girl watched the exchange, her eyes bright with interest.

"I regenerated Jack. You know I can- I've done it before."

Jack nodded. "Yeah- yeah I know, I remember. What happened this time? How do I know it's you?"

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Last time I saw you you were in an intergalactic bar- Torchwood had fallen, you were drinking away everything. An ex crew member of the Titanic sat next to you- his name was Alonso. I told you."

Jack grinned remembering, and then his eyes widened as he started to take it in- this was him, really, this was the Doctor.

"I was dying, Jack. I just wanted to say goodbye. And now I'm wondering- how on Earth did you find us, and why?"

Jack grinned, recovering himself. He nodded to the gorgeous redhead (how many times was he going to mentally refer to her like that?) who looked like she could be a model. His eyes lingered on her long, slender legs…

"Jack!"

The Doctor's disapproving snap brought Jack out of it, to look up into the girl's feisty hazel eyes and see that she was smirking.

"He's just like you said Doctor- and there was me thinking you were exaggerating for effect." Her voice was amused, with a hint of a Scottish accent.

Jack's grin widened, "Don't believe a word he says Miss….?"

The girl grinned. "I'm Amy. Amy Pond."

Jack raised his eyebrows, "nice name, Pond."

The Doctor laughed and Amy punched him lightly on the shoulder, scowling. "Ugh, even he calls me that. What is it with you time traveling blokes?"

Jack watched the way Amy leant into the Doctor- the way he let his arm fall casually around her shoulders, and raised an eyebrow at the Time Lord.

His eyes said, _I'll explain later._ Jack nodded.

"Actually Doctor- there was a reason I chased you God knows how long BC into the Himalayas. It's Donna- I think she's in trouble, and she needs your help."

X

The Doctor was in the console room and typing in co-ordinates without a word, his face set and determined as he called to Jack over the sound of the TARDIS taking off. "What sort of trouble? How do you know?"

Jack sprinted round the console and tore the Doctor away from the controls by wrapping his arms round his waist. Amy used the zigzag plotter to keep the TARDIS stable.

Jack sat the Doctor down, though the Time Lord stared back defiantly as Amy walked round the console, hands on hips.

"You can't go anywhere yet Doctor, you're still injured by the look of things." Jack said fiercely, staring the Doctor down.

Amy folded her arms, and decided she liked Captain Harkness.

The Doctor frowned at Jack. "Donna is in _danger_. She needs _my_ help- you said so yourself- there's no time to lose!"

Jack rolled his eyes. "Doctor- you're in a _Time Machine_, you can turn up whenever you need to- but if you turn up injured, it's not going to help, and not knowing what's going on isn't exactly a good thing either. Is it?"

The Doctor looked to Amy for support, but she just grinned, and her eyes flashed him an '_actually I agree with Jack'_ look.

The Doctor sighed, defeated, then winced as the air rushed out of his lungs too fast and his ribs were jerked a little.

Jack watched with narrowed eyes. "I think it's about time you told me that story Doctor, and then I'll tell you mine."

Jack laughed as the Doctor finished and looked at Amy with growing admiration. "D'you know what Amy? I think you're brilliant!" He chuckled to himself. "Perfume bottle."

Then the Doctor leant forwards, and Jack's attention returned to the Time Lord.

"Now Jack- what's happened to Donna?"

Jack sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I don't know exactly. A few weeks back I went to Cardiff. You know- just to…well, anyway. I was standing on the spot where the rift was when some bloke comes up and gives me a letter from Donna Temple-Noble, explaining he'd been waiting around for days in this spot, as he'd been told, looking for someone who matched my description."

The Doctor raised his eyebrows, and Amy leant forwards, listening intently.

"Well, I opened the letter and inside it said, 'Come to our Garden Party, May 4th, Sean and Donna Temple-Noble'. Well that wasn't all that strange- but then underneath, scribbled, like it had been written in a rush by someone who didn't know how to write-' _beware of the roses, find the Doctor. Help me.' "_

The Doctor frowned. And Jack shrugged. "It was weird- but, it felt so urgent, and I didn't have anything better to do. I checked a few records for any recent anomalies, and picked up on a story about giant bats seen by monks in the Tabo Monastery." The Captain grinned. "Went back around the same time, and Lo and behold, I find a little blue box."

The Doctor smiled a bit, and Jack frowned. "But Doctor- what…I mean, I don't get it- who do you think wrote that? Donna was a temp if memory serves- I somehow doubt messy handwriting fits the job description, and she became half Time lord, right?"

Amy's face twisted in sympathy as the Doctor leaned back, closing his eyes in tired pain.

"No Jack. Donna was half Time Lord, but it was too much- burning her up, so I had to erase her memories. She can't remember me, or she'll die."

Jack's frown deepened. "Then how…?"

The Doctor smiled a little, though his eyes were still sad. "The Doctor-Donna isn't _gone_ Jack. She's still there, fighting for it. That's why the writing is so scribbled though- Donna would barely have been aware she was doing it. But it means this is big, and important."

The Doctor took a deep breath and stood up, walking over to the console, taking off the zigzag plotter and grinning at Amy.

"Well remembered."

Amy grinned and Jack wondered what exactly the nature of their relationship was.

He didn't have a chance to ask though, as the Doctor pulled a lever and launched the brand new TARDIS forwards through time and space.

X

In her mansion, a few miles outside London, Donna Temple-Noble sat, drinking a cup of tea, quietly looking out over her expansive gardens. At the end of the lawn were a crowd of Victorian rose bushes, recently planted by the New Gardeners.

She stared at the roses- at the way they seemed to glow and move of their own accord. It was almost as if she could hear them whispering to her, their voices carried by the wind… Donna shivered and shook herself.

One of the New Gardeners walked past the veranda, pausing to stare at her.

Donna tried a smile. "Morning." She said, cheerily.

The middle aged woman in dark forest green overalls just stared at the other woman for a moment with opaque grey eyes. Then she nodded and walked away.

Donna frowned and took another sip of tea. "What's with _her?"_

She sat there-she wasn't sure why. It was like she was waiting for something. At the back of her mind, she could feel strange, hidden memories starting to come to the front of her mind. They had…before, but they'd burnt then. Now the pain was decreasing each day, and she could hear a voice, her own voice, whispering to her from the back of her thoughts.

_Watch the roses, Donna! Beware of the roses!_

Donna shook her head, thinking about going inside and getting some of her medication- the medicine she'd been given from the Doctor after telling Sean about this voice and her strange memories.

For a reason unknown to her, she snorted with contempt, "Medication."

Donna blinked, shocked, and put down her tea, getting up to go inside-to take some of those tablets, feeling so confused.

There was a scream from the bottom of the garden, where the roses were- and then one of the gardeners- the old ones who'd been there before the New ones with their roses- staggered away from the bushes.

The side of his face was severely burnt, and he made it halfway down the garden, choking, before he collapsed onto the lawn.

Horrified, Donna dropped her tea on the balcony and the expensive china shattered. She ignored it as she went to run to the man gasping for air on the grass.

Suddenly a group of the New Gardeners surrounded him. As Donna began to step down from the veranda, the woman who'd stared at her before held out a hand to stop her. Her voice was a bizarre monotone- at odds with her soft face.

"Please ma'am. We will call the ambulance. You do not want to see."

Donna frowned. "Well thanks very much and all that jazz but that man is _dying_ over there- he needs help!"

Donna went to push past, but the woman met her eyes and just stared into them- her strange grey irises glowing silver.

"You do not want to see." She repeated, in the same strange monotone.

Donna felt something stir in the back of her head- strong and fierce, but then it settled again, and she felt herself stepping back onto the veranda, turning around.

"Yeah, you're- you're right. Thanks."

She stared at the huddle of gardeners, obscuring the other man's body from view. The she went inside, to get her medication, putting a hand to her head.

But those words, her words from earlier, whispered in the back of her mind, _Beware of the Roses!_

Behind her, the bushes shook in the breeze, and Donna felt a shiver run down her back- not realizing all of the New Gardeners had turned to watch her go, with identical grey eyes.

* * *

Ooooh, yes the capitalization is deliberate. What's with the roses? What's with the 'New Gardeners'? What's up with Donna?

And on a slightly more gossip magazine side note, how is Jack going to react when he discovers the full extent of Amy and the Doctor's...relationship?

Please keep reading and reviewing, I really appreciate it, and hope you're enjoying the story.

Thanks for dropping by!

Kat


	12. DoctorDonna?

**AN: **Hello my faithful, awesome, abused readers! I'm so sorry this took so long, but adly, the sequel doesn't seem as popular as the first fic, so I've been trying to edit it to perfection- especially after reading one chap of this which was quite frankly appalingly riddled with typos. I've got to admit, at that point, I nearly gave this up all together- thank Rassilon I've still got you lot eh? Anyway, enough moaning, here's the chap!

This chap's quote:

"The closer I'm bound in love to you, the closer I am to free." ~

So, last time, Jack turned up in the TARDIS to tell the Doctor and Amy Donna was in trouble- and it seems the Doctor-Donna is afraid of some kind of roses. Human Donna is rich in a mansion, but also on drugs becasue Time Lord Donna is becoming more and more present in her mind. Just to add to the confusion, a weird group of New Gardeners, all with identical silver eyes, are seemingly trying to hide something from her, and one of her old gardeners was apparently killed by the roses at the bottom of the garden. So what does Donna do? After being somehow mesmerised not to help the man, she's goes inside to take her pills...

Enjoy!

* * *

Donna shook a handful of tablets into her hand, which was shaking. It was about three times as many as she should be taking- a dangerous amount, but her skin was prickling with goosebumps- she was terrified, and she had no idea why. She just wanted it to stop.

Suddenly another hand knocked the pills onto the floor. "And what _exactly_ do you think you're doing?"

Donna turned quickly, swallowing her fear, to meet the grey-blue eyes of a complete stranger with floppy brown hair, a tweed jacket and a bow tie, who looked about ten years her junior. He was scowling at her and the pills on the floor, his eyes flashing to read the label of the pot of medicine, then narrowing.

For a reason completely unknown to her, Donna's heart leapt, and that weird voice that was her but not her whispered in the back of her mind- something about time…

Pulling herself together, she responded rudely. "None of your bloody business- and what are you doing in my house?"

The man raised his eyebrows. "You didn't ask who I was."

Donna blinked- but he was right, she hadn't. "I-" She stopped herself- because what she'd been about to say was, _I know who you are, of course I do._

But she didn't- she'd never met him before in her life. Donna blinked, frowning, and the stranger frowned in concern right back.

"Donna, are you-" He broke off, going to put a hand on her shoulder for reassurance and letting it fall back to his side when she stepped back.

Donna just stared at this sort of stranger- and wondered why she hadn't yet called the police or hit him with something heavy for breaking into her house, when a tall handsome man, and an equally good looking red headed girl ran into the kitchen.

"You can't just run off like that! What if you bumped into-" The girl broke off, her accented voice faltering as she caught sight of Donna.

She paused and looked to the man in the bow tie- who nodded. His eyes were guarded and sad, Donna didn't know why. Beaming, the girl stepped forwards, eyes shining with excitement. "Mrs Donna Temple-Noble I believe, it's an _honour_ to meet you- I'm Amy Pond."

Donna blinked- flattered and bewildered by the girl's excitement. She smiled back, taking the girl's slender hand. "Um. Nice to meet you too."

The handsome man stepped forwards, nodding his head and taking Donna's hand to kiss it. "Capt'n Jack Harkness, it's good to-" He paused, eyes flashing to the stranger, showing a hint of matching sadness. "It's nice to meet you, Donna."

Donna shook her head, feeling the other her waking up at the back of her mind- it didn't hurt so much, but she tried to ignore it. It settled back down again- and she was left clueless once more, staring at the handful of strangers in her kitchen. But just for a second there, she thought she'd recognized that handsome man, Captain Jack….

Donna turned to the man in the bowtie- "And you, who are you?"

The man breathed in and smiled, straightening up, "It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs Temple-Noble, I'm-"

"The Doctor."

All three strangers looked at each other and then back at Donna- who suddenly had a pounding headache. She shook her head, pressing her fingers to her temples. "Sorry, I- I don't know why I said that."

The man smiled- though his eyes seemed distressed- as did the girl and the Captain's. "No really it's alright, I _am_ a Doctor- Doctor John Smith, pleased to meet you."

He held out his hand, formally, and Donna shook it, though for some reason she wanted to hug him. Then she stepped back and surveyed the three of them, putting her hands on her hips.

"So, what the bloody hell are you doing in my house?"

X

"Who are the gardeners?" The Doctor asked, eyeing the work men and women in their matching forest green suits warily.

"I dunno. I used to know everyone by name- but these are the New Gardeners," there was something strange in the way Donna said it- like she was repeating a name from a dream.

Amy looked at the Doctor and raised an eyebrow- he nodded, he'd heard it too.

Donna shook herself, taking a sip of her tea- her hand trembled a little as she eyed the roses at the bottom of the garden.

"Something happened." She said, nervously, her eyes flicking around. She seemed to resolve herself and sat forwards.

Amy and the Doctor leaned closer- Jack had gone to check on the TARDIS, it seemed Donna was at risk of remembering him, so he'd gone.

"This morning- Rob, one of the old gardeners- I heard a scream from the bottom of the garden, and then he came stumbling out from the roses- all burnt and choking. He collapsed halfway down the lawn. I went to help-"

Donna paused, glancing around. There was no one in sight. "But one of the New Gardeners stopped me- she did something, stared into my eyes, and I went back in, and all of them clustered round Rob. She said she'd call the ambulance, but no one's turned up- and they should have, right?"

Amy nodded, frowning as Donna looked to her for re-assurance.

Donna took a deep breath, " I think it's to do with the roses. They're dangerous. _Beware the roses._"

Amy jumped- because on the last three words, Donna had sounded like she was two people, talking at the same time. Donna leant forward, frowning and rubbing her temples, and the Doctor raised both eyebrows.

He put a hand on Donna's shoulder. "Donna? Are you alright Donna?"

Donna shook her head. "Doctor Smith- my head hurts. Not burning like it used to- but it still _hurts_."

She sounder panicked and Amy got up, wrapping her arms around Donna and rubbing her back, making soothing noises. After a moment, Donna sat up, she shook her head and took a deep breath, smiling at Amy.

"I'm sorry- you must both think I'm mad. Beware the roses." She scoffed, trying to cover up her fear with bravado.

The Doctor shook his head, beaming. "No, I think you're absolutely brilliant."

Donna shook her head, smiling, "Nah- I'm nothing special, just a temp-" She broke off, frowning, then shrugged it off. "Sorry, you know what I mean."

The Doctor nodded. "Yeah, it's alright, I know what you mean- well, Amy and I should be going."

He stood as if to leave, but Donna grabbed his hand. "No! Don't!" She blinked and shook her head, then smiled to cover it up.

"Sorry- I mean, it's not like we're pushed for space- and I'm a bit creeped out right now, you and your girlfriend can stay in one of our spare rooms- if you like."

Amy and the Doctor blushed and spluttered. It was ok for random strangers to think they were a couple, but this was different- this was Donna.

The Doctor shook his head. "Um- we're not, that is to say, ah…"

Donna raised an eyebrow. "Don't you try hiding it from me Space man." She blinked, then laughed. "It's obvious, come on!" She waved the pair of them inside, leaving their cups on the table.

Beyond, in the garden- the rose bushes shook and seemed to whisper.

* * *

Oooooh, so what's going on with Donna then? Seems like something is drawing the Doctor Donna out, and slowly, it's working- wonder what a catalyst like a certain Time Lord will do to affect that? And where's Shaun?

Hope you all enjoyed it, and continue to read and hopefully review with thoughts, ideas and comments,

As ever thankyou for reading,

Kat


	13. Dismay

**AN: **Hi! this is sorta rushed as there's a thunderstorm and I've fallen out with the 'folks so I really can't be on my laptop right now, but I thought you lot deserved some warning before I didn't update in lord knows how log, I'm so sorry, and hope you forgive me. I'm aiming to be back in a week/2 hopefully you guys can manage. Haha, I'm sure it's not that important to you all, but I'm so sorry! As I mentioned, my parents have an issue with writing/acting/art any job that isn't accountancy or politics, it's always tricky.

This chap's quote:

_"Love – a bare whisper that makes your body ignite with such uncontrollable curiosity." ~_

_

* * *

_

Donna led them down a long clean corridor, her feet sinking into the thick soft beige carpet.

Finally she stopped and threw open a pair of white doors with old fashioned brass handles, revealing an enormous room with a huge four poster bed, and old fashioned mahogany wardrobe, two bedside tables, a bookshelf with a huge amount of Agatha Christie novels, and a door in the right hand wall.

Beaming at the Doctor and Amy's shocked reactions, Donna opened the door, revealing a huge en suite bathroom.

She smiled. "Right then, you've got all your complimentary toiletries in there- with real shampoo and conditioner, not one of those annoying mixed bottles which mess up your hair."

Amy laughed and Donna laughed with her then stepped back out and pointed to the wardrobe.

"Towels and pyjamas in there, note paper and pens in the drawers if you want some, and slippers under the end of the bed, _plus_," Donna grinned, walking to the huge pillows on the bed and picking up two dark squares.

"Complimentary chocolate! How cool is that?" She smiled, pressing the chocolate into the Doctor and Amy's hands.

Then she walked to the double doors and smirked a little. "Well then. I'll just…leave you to it."

She walked out, shutting the doors. Amy and the Doctor looked at each other- then at the huge, king sized bed. Bed in the singular.

Suddenly Donna popped back in. "Oh, dinners in half an hour, ok?"

She grinned and went out.

Amy looked at the Doctor- he didn't meet her gaze, his eyes shifting frantically to look everywhere except her.

Amy folded her arms and tapped her foot- wondering how long he was going to avoid looking at her.

After about 2 minutes Amy rolled her eyes and walked forwards.

"Doctor, is something bothering you?"

She raised an eyebrow, barely concealing a mischievous smirk.

The Doctor rolled his eyes, glanced at her, then glanced away, suddenly flinging his arms up in an explosive movement that made Amy jump. He pointed at the bed.

"Yes, actually- _that_ is bothering me! Donna!"

Amy grinned at his exasperated, flustered panic.

"I thought she was pretty cool."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Yes, I know we've _covered_ this- Donna is brilliant, but this! This is just- just mean!"

He finished lamely, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Amy raised her other eyebrow. "Well- actually, I think it was pretty nice of her."

The Doctor spun to his Scottish companion, bewildered.

"Nice?"

Amy shrugged, blushing a little now- why did she always get so nervous round him?

She looked down, feeling the brush of her eyelashes on her cheeks, then back up at the Doctor.

"Doctor- for an incredibly intelligent man, you are _really_ bad at taking a hint- and this, this is a really _big_ hint." Amy said, nodding to the bed.

The Doctor spun to look at it, arms flailing, then snapped his head back round to stare at Amy, a little confused.

" Wait- what? You mean you-?"

Amy raised her eyes heavenwards, then grinned at the Doctor, stepping closer.

"Anyone else would have thought it obvious."

The Doctor blinked, shocked, though Amy could feel his breathing coming faster from where she stood- her face centimeters from his. He stared into her eyes intently, for once deadly serious.

"Are you _sure?_"

Amy felt her breath catch- he was agreeing, or at least considering 'it'. Amy felt her skin start to get hot as she nodded, speechless. How could she say no? She was caught in his gaze now, and she watched him register her response- her consent.

The Doctor's eyes widened and he leaned down suddenly, catching her lips in a hungry kiss, putting his arms round her slender frame and pulling her closer- Amy could feel her skin burning and she looped her arms around his neck, turning her head, desperately trying to get closer.

She felt the Doctor's hand hesitate at her waist before slipping under her loose lilac top, sliding up her bare back. Amy shivered a little and smiled against the Time Lord's lips. She felt him smile back, moving from her lips to her jaw, and then her neck as Amy's hand slid down his back, tracing the contours of his shoulder blades- the ridge of his spine.

Donna popped her head round the door, a knowing smile on her lips- causing the couple to leap apart as if they'd had an electric shock.

Donna's grin widened as she chirped, "dinner's ready!"

Out of breath and blushing heavily, the Doctor and Amy nodded. They looked at each other and blushed more whilst Donna laughed, walking back down the long corridor to the dining room.

Amy rushed after her, but the Doctor paused in the doorway, eyes lingering on the four poster bed, and he couldn't help a flash of excitement burning into his blue-grey eyes.

X

Amy sat down at the kitchen table, thinking about how incredibly grounded Donna was, in spite of her enormous fortune. Smiling, Donna sat down and a sweet looking woman came over and placed their food in front of them.

Well, Donna was mostly grounded. Amy grinned at the woman and so did Donna, "Thanks Janie- it smells delicious."

The little old lady smiled, her plump rosy cheeks rounding out, and her grey eyes shining.

Amy grinned at Donna, picking up her silver knife and fork gingerly. Donna grinned and shrugged at her, excitement in her eyes, "little pleasures y'know?"

Amy laughed. "Yeah, good for you."

Donna beamed and poured herself some white wine, offering some to Amy and then the Doctor. Both beamed and accepted it.

Donna raised her glass. "To the Doctor, you came!" She blinked and Amy and the Doctor froze, exchanging glances.

Donna shook her head. "I mean, it's lovely to meet you, both of you."

Amy and the Doctor smiled back, trying to hide their concern, chinking their glasses against Donna's, who looked down at her food, shaking a little.

Amy, sitting to her left, put her hand over the older woman's.

"Donna?" She said, gently. "You ok?"

Donna looked at her and gulped in a little air, frowning and smiling at the same time. "Yeah. Yeah- sorry."

Amy smiled, shaking her head, feeling the Doctor watch the pair of them with bewildered concern.

"Don't worry 'bout it. Come on lets get you some-"

She broke off as she looked at Donna's plate, and she frowned, unable to stop a reaction of disgusted shock.

"What, the hell, is _that_?" She asked, horrified.

Amy's voice was loud, and Donna glanced to Janie in apology before looking back to the girl in confusion, as did the Doctor.

"What do you mean, Amy?" He asked, gently. "It's a delicious meal, cooked especially for us."

Amy looked at the Doctor incredulously- "Ok, maybe it looks delicious to you- but it looks completely _gross_ to me."

The Doctor frowned, glancing over to Janie, who stood in the doorway, a worried expression on her face.

"Look, Amy, everyone has different tastes- maybe it looks, unsavory, to you- but to me it looks mouth watering."

He smiled a bit, trying to calm her down. Amy just stared at him.

"There. Is not. A _single_ human being, on this _planet_ who would find that mouthwatering. Salmon, cream, chocolate, celery, tomato, jam and mustard _don't_ go together- they just don't, ok?"

The Doctor blinked- frowning at his own plate, then looked at Amy's -which held a different meal entirely, simple salmon with new potatoes and peas. Donna stared.

"But- I-I don't understand. It smells perfect."

The Doctor nodded, grim realization flooding his features. He looked at Amy as he spoke.

"Perfect to a Time Lord. It's bait for us- something is trying to trick Donna and I."

Amy raised an eyebrow. "Trying? They all but succeeded."

The Doctor pulled a rueful expression, then picked up a little of his chocolate and cream coated salmon, sniffing it delicately. His eyebrows raised.

"Poison."

"_Time Lord._"

The Doctor and Amy turned their heads simultaneously to Donna, who'd gone very pale, and was staring at her food. They could practically see the Doctor-Donna waking up.

She stared at the Doctor, whispered again, and there were tears trickling down her cheeks now, smudging her makeup.

"_Time Lord!_"

Amy looked at the Doctor for help, hovering over Donna, who was trembling a little- but staring at the Doctor as if entranced, as if he was a puzzle she couldn't figure out. The Doctor stared right back, his expression apprehensive.

Then suddenly Donna's face broke into a smile, and she gave a little laugh as more tears flooded down her cheeks.

"Doctor!"

Donna leapt to her feet, moved round the table and threw her arms round the Doctor, who, laughing but confused, hugged her back. Donna grinned and pulled back, really looking at him- and Amy could practically see the intelligence simmering below the surface, hidden for so long.

"You regenerated! What happened? And you found a girl!" She winked at Amy, grinning, and the Doctor blushed a bit.

The Doctor spluttered as Donna continued to bombard him with questions, then hugged him again. Quickly, the Doctor pushed her back.

"Donna, it's great to have you back- but there's one really big thing both of us are missing- because _this_ is impossible. You can't remember!"

Instantly Donna's expression became serious. "I know, Doctor- it's the-"

All the lights went out. There was a shout, and a scream. Amy spun blindly, trying to see something, anything. She felt someone move past her at blinding speed and flinched back. There was a soft hiss and a dull thud. A plate smashed. More movement.

In the darkness, Amy heard the Doctor yell out. She moved towards the sound but suddenly she was frozen to the spot. All she saw was a glint of silver at head height, and then it was gone. Amy fell forwards, using the table for support as the lights came back on.

The Doctor was spinning round, scanning the room with his screwdriver, shouting. "Donna! DONNA!"

Amy tried to breathe, but her chest felt constricted. She frowned, gasping, and felt the Doctor come to her side. "Amy! Amy? Are you alright?"

Amy blinked, shaking her head as a heavy feeling lifted from her. "I dunno. Felt like something was…holding me down."

She still felt dizzy, and had to sit, putting her head between her legs.

"Ugh. Feel like crap."

The Doctor chuckled, but it was a tense, worried sound, and he kept searching the now empty dining room with his frantic eyes as he crouched down to her level.

"Amy- did you see anything? Anything at all?"

Amy nodded, gulping. "Silver eyes."

The Doctor's breath left him in a rush. He took Amy's face in his hands, his fingers pressing a little too hard into her throbbing temples in his panic.

"Amy- are you _sure?_"

Amy nodded. She was starting to feel a little better now, and she sat up slowly, looking around the room- wondering where Donna had gone, and hoping she was safe.

"Doctor- they took Donna. What do we do now?"

The Doctor stared into her eyes for a moment and then shut his own, resting his forehead on her knees.

"I don't know."

* * *

Yikes!

Will update asap, please let me know what you thought of this chap, you've got a while to do so, and sorry for typos- !

Kat


	14. Surprise attack

**AN:** Sorry to leave you all on a cliffie, but I'm glad you liked it. The fact that Donna's brain didn't burn was a DELIBERATE mistake, it's part of the plot, so keep an eye out!

This chap's quote:

_"You come to love not by finding the perfect person, but by seeing an imperfect person perfectly." -_

Ok, so Donna started to remember and was about to explain why when all the lights went out and she dissapeared- leaving the Doctor panicked and Amy shaking after being entranced by glowing silver eyes...

* * *

"DOCTOR!"

Amy and the Doctor jumped, looking to the door that captain Jack had just burst through, cradling a severely burnt unconscious man in his arms.

The Doctor yelped, "Shaun!"

Quickly the Doctor swept the expensive plates and poisoned food off the table, letting it crash to the ground, and motioning for Jack to lie the man on the sizable oak table. Jack did so- and in the movement Amy noticed his hands and the rest of his arms were severely burnt too.

She frowned- "Jack, you're hurt too."

The Doctor glanced up at Jack's hands then looked back to Shaun, scanning him with his screwrdriver, then gently opening each eye and shining a light into it.

"Jack'll be fine", he said dismissively- pre-occupied with Donna's husband. Amy frowned and skirted round the Time Lord to the captain, taking his hands to look at the burns more closely.

They were already healing. Amy frowned and looked up into Jack's handsome face. "I thought you were human." She could hear the accusatory tone in her own voice.

Jack laughed. "I am-sort of. Basically I can't die, it's a really long story."

Amy mentally hit herself. "Yeah, of course- the Doctor told me. I didn't think…"

Jack raised an eyebrow, and the Doctor- from where he was still bent over Shaun, now gently examining the burns on the man's face and neck, looked up briefly to flash Amy a re-assuring smile.

"Like I said. Jack'll be fine."

Amy nodded, then really looked at the man the Doctor had called Shaun- lifeless and severely burnt on the table. Her eyes filled with concern, "What about him? Who is he? Will he be ok?"

The Doctor chuckled, but it was the same tense chuckle as before. "So many questions! His name is Shaun Temple-Noble, Donna's husband. As to whether he'll be ok- we can only hope."

The Doctor looked to Jack. "You got any bandages, antiseptic?" Then he turned to Amy.

"If you can, please get some vinegar, mustard and pomegranate. Shout if something happens."

Amy nodded and ran into the next room whilst Jack rifled through his pockets.

Whilst the girl was gone Jack put a syringe, a watch, a packet of chewing gum, a cinema ticket and a mobile onto the table. Finally he produced a squashed roll of off white bandages- and a half empty tube of antiseptic.

The Doctor winced, regarding the less than appropriate medical supplies, thinking longingly of the superior store in the TARDIS. But there was no time for that now- he needed to act quickly.

Hurriedly the Doctor squeezed antiseptic onto his hand and began rubbing it into Shaun's cheeks, the back of his skull- his neck, shoulders and chest- the areas most severely burnt.

Jack watched him whilst he worked, fidgeting- as if he wanted to say something. The Doctor finished on the burns on Shaun's cheeks and nose and the base of his skull, moving to his neck.

"If you want to say something- say it."

That brought Jack into action.

"You and Amy- what's going on with you?"

The Doctor raised an eyebrow at Shaun's unconscious face. "Is it any of your business?"

He heard a quick rush of air leave Jack's chest in slight shock at being responded to so abruptly, and sighed.

"I don't know Jack. I know she thinks she cares about me, but then she's young, and-" He shrugged, trying to fake nonchalance as he moved onto the scorched remnants of Shaun's cotton shirt- burnt through with an acidic substance.

"Anyway- what happened?"

Jack made a sound of surprise- unable to believe he'd forgotten. "Oh, ah, the TARDIS scans were showing some dodgy readings, I was going to check them out when I heard a commotion outside. I went out and there was this group of…gardeners dragging an unconscious Donna towards the rose bushes."

The Doctor nodded to himself, as if confirming a secretly held suspicion. He motioned for Jack to continue with one hand as he gingerly extricated material from one of the wounds in Shaun's chest.

"Well, obviously I went to help, and as I was running towards them when this guy turns up in his car. He gets out and starts shouting as they pull her into the rose bushes- there's something hidden there, the air shimmered and they were gone. Shaun went to dive in after them, into the bushes, but the roses started shaking- and then suddenly there was this bright multicolored powdery mist, or fog- whatever- it was gas. He started screaming and I pulled him back, though he kept fighting to get back to Donna."

Jack glanced at his arms, where the scars of his burns had long since faded. "It felt like fire… Doctor, what was it? Who are those people? What do they want with Donna?"

The Doctor straightened up as Amy came back in, hands full of what the Doctor had requested. He immediately unscrewed the mustard and began to spread it thickly over the antiseptic he'd already applied.

He spoke to Jack directly when he said, "I don't know. But it's something to do with Time Lords. Looks like this time we're the prey..."

X

Once Shaun was fully bandaged Amy led Jack to her and the Doctor's room whilst the Doctor set about examining the remnants of Donna's food for clues as to what she had been being given.

When Amy pushed opened the doors, Jack raised his eyebrows.

"One bed?"

Amy blushed heavily as Jack lay a heavily bandaged Shaun onto the white covers. "It was Donna's idea."

Jack grinned, "sure it was."

As Amy made to protest, he interrupted. "Hey, don't get me wrong- where I come from it's no bad thing to be having some, y'know, action."

He winked and Amy felt her mouth drop open.

"I have NOT been travelling with the Doctor for _action_ as you call it. We haven't even, you know…."

She broke off and looked at the ground, biting her lip- wondering why the Doctor hadn't touched her like that yet. Wondering if it was something wrong with her.

Jack paused, noticing her silence, and came over, taking her shoulders. He smiled a little- they were all the same.

"Listen, Amy. Have you kissed him?"

Amy nodded, and Jack grinned.

"Has he kissed you?"

Amy nodded again, blushing a little and smiling. "All the time."

Jack's hands squeezed her skin. "Then you're fine- the last girl he loved, Rose-I think she kissed him once? And she was being possessed by the last human from old Earth- so I wouldn't worry about it. In fact, I think he cares about you, a lot."

When Amy looked up, her eyes full of tears, Jack raised his eyebrows, the grin falling off his face.

"Did I say something wrong?"

Amy smiled, half laughing through her tears. "No. No. It's just." She paused, swallowing a sob. "I _know_ he cares about me-I _know_ he loves me- I'm not stupid. But-"

She paused, and Jack didn't say a word, letting her first lot sink in- letting the idea of the Doctor telling someone he was in love with them sink in.

"But I don't understand why he won't change me so I can live as long as he can. Slow my body clock- whatever. Doesn't he understand that every moment I'm with him I have to remember I'm going to leave him alone? Doesn't he realize how- how _painful_ that is?"

Amy collapsed into sobs against Jack's chest, and he held her there, unsure what to do next. Normally right now he'd give her some 'comfort love', but considering what she'd said about the Doctor- he couldn't.

So he was left in a position he wasn't used to- advisor. Jack chewed his lip and thought about everything he knew about the Doctor, then looked down at Amy, holding her at arms length so he could meet her gaze.

"Amy- you need to be strong for him, alright?"

Amy frowned in confusion.

"Listen- you can't hold this against him. Because- because I think in a way he's saving himself. " Amy went to interrupt but Jack continued.

"Think about it. He's used to being the last one- the survivor, it'll break his heart but he'll get through. And he needs these times to help him with it. But he can't be the first one to go- after everything he's done, do you honestly think he could let himself get into trouble- die, knowing he's changed you, that you can never return to normality? And at the same time- he can't stop doing this, fighting for what he thinks is right- otherwise he doesn't know why to keep living."

Jack took a deep breath- looking deep into the girl's gorgeous gold and hazel eyes and wishing the Doctor hadn't got here first.

Then he finished, "You have to deal with this- to save him from any more suffering."

Amy looked at him, curiously, lips slightly parted in surprise, then nodded, rubbing away her tears with the back of her hand like a child.

"You know Captain Jack-you're everything he said you were, and more."

Jack put on fake excitement. "He talked about me?"

Amy laughed. "All the time."

Jack laughed with her as they walked out of the room- leaving Shaun safe and asleep on the bed. Suddenly the Doctor's voice cut into their moment of light heartedness.

"_AMY_! JACK!"

Amy looked at Jack and they both burst into a run, plunged once more into nightmarish reality- but loving the thrill of the chase.

* * *

Ah, I think they'll get along just fine- and the Doc's improvised medicine...haha inspired by the lodger ep.

So- why's the Doctor shouting for them? Will Shaun be ok? Where have the new gardeners taken Donna? And why are they hunting for Time Lords?

I haven't really got my laptop back as such, but I'll try and update ASAP, I really appreciate all your reviews- please do keep 'em coming!

Kat


	15. Difficult Decisions

**AN: **Hi! Sorry this took so long- my parents have lifted the ban on laptops- but banned internet altogether for a week whilst I was on holiday in Phuket (in Thailand) So sorry this took so long!

Well done to Lily for last chap- it was Sam Keen. Also, Lady Seiryu- your prize is now ready! At last.. so PM me when you've got the time for me to send it!

This chap's quote:

_Love is much like a wild rose, beautiful and calm, but willing to draw blood in its defense._

Gee, wonder why I picked that? Haha.

Quick catch up:

Weirdly, Donna's Time Lady self is coming out- which is impossible. She asks Jack and the Doctor for help, and adds the bewildering message, "Beware of the roses." A sit turns out, somehow these roses emit a pollen/gas which severely burns a perceived 'enemy. Donna's husband was grievously harmed whilst trying to save her from the 'New Gardeners', silver eyes 'humans' who'd been feeding her Time Lord food, tried to poison the Doctor, and kidnapped her when she finally recognised him.

On a gossip note- Jack's getting used to Amy and the Doctor's 'arrangements' (single bed courtesy of Donna) and Amy's unsure why the Doctor hasn't got intimate with her yet, and why he won't help her live as long as he.

The Doctor just shouted for his fesity companions- and they've come running- wonder what it's about?

Enjoy!

* * *

The Doctor ran to Jack and Amy as they came in, glancing at Jack and then checking over Amy, taking her face in his hands and kissing her forehead in relief.

"You're safe. Not burnt- either of you?"

Amy looked at Jack in confusion, the Captain shrugged. The Doctor frowned.

"Haven't you seen?"

Amy's brow was now furrowed in bewilderment. "Seen _what_ Doctor?"

The Doctor walked through to the kitchen and Amy and Jack followed. There was a metre high window overlooking the garden behind the sink, currently with the curtains closed.

With a single, dramatic gesture, the Doctor threw the curtains open- revealing the outside of the house. All around, about 6 feet high, thick and ominous- were rose bushes- moving eerily in the still night.

In front of them, on the veranda, hands linked- Donna's 'New Gardeners' surrounded the house, still as stone, all with the same silver eyes staring towards the house.

Amy felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise up and stumbled backwards, glancing at the Doctor.

"Doctor- what are they? And what's with the roses?"

Jack's voice was hoarse when he spoke, his eyes fixed on the beautiful bushes that had mysteriously sprung up in a wall of shrubbery, surrounding Donna's house.

"They're what burnt Shaun and I. Those roses."

Amy looked at the Doctor, grabbing his arm and feeling her heart pound faster as realization came. "Beware the roses."

The Doctor nodded, staring right back at the motionless gardeners and their strange silver eyes.

"Exactly."

One of the gardeners stepped forwards- a woman with tan skin and soft brown curly hair. The Doctor tilted his head to the side. The woman spoke.

"_**Give us the Time Lord."**_

Her voice was layered- as if she was simply the mouthpiece for all of them, and there was something….compelling about it. Her silver eyes shone.

Amy frowned, shaking her head- feeling something pressing in. Jack put his hands to his temples, frowning. He looked to the Doctor for guidance.

"Doctor- what is it?"

The Doctor grinned a little, though his eyes were hard.

"Ah- just them trying to force you to hand me over. It's not working." He raised his voice a little and repeated himself. "It's not working."

He looked at Amy and Jack, taking their hands whilst the woman and the others stood impassive. The rose bushes shivered.

"Come on- lets get a better view."

The Doctor led Amy and Jack out of the kitchen, past the table, and then through to the lounge- with it's full length sliding doors onto the veranda.

He squeezed Amy's hand, then Jack's, and smiled nervously at them. The woman walked round quickly, then stood again in front of the others, between the Doctor and the gardeners.

"_**Give us the Time Lord."**_ She repeated.

The Doctor cocked his head to the side- seemingly unperturbed, even as Jack and Amy shook their heads, massaging their temples.

"Why?"

The woman blinked and her eyes dimmed- as if she was conferring with the others mentally. The silver returned and she spoke again.

"_**The female has barricaded her mind. Only a Time Lord can unlock it."**_

The Doctor raised both eyebrows.

"And why would I want to help you?"

The woman did not move this time, her reply was direct.

"_**Because otherwise we will kill you. And your friends."**_

The Doctor raised his eyebrows- Amy grabbed his arm.

"What does she mean? How can they kill us- it's just roses and people."

The roses waved and hissed, and the gardeners stood impassive. Amy blinked, staring at the flowers.

The Doctor looked at Amy. "Remember Shaun?"

Amy looked from the Doctor to the flowers, "_what_? They did that? Doctor- they're flowers!"

The Doctor shook his head. "No- they're the Nondo Maua and they're deadly. These are the troops- and they're ready to fire. Literally. Well,sort of."

He shrugged off Amy's grip and stepped forwards, smiling back at her and the captain.

"I guess I better hand myself over before the roses get trigger happy."

Amy would have laughed if she hadn't been so terrified. She grabbed the Doctor's arm again.

"No. Don't. Please- there's got to be another way." She felt like some kind of cliched hollywood character- but if it worked...

The Doctor smiled, trying to reassure her.

"Look- we don't even know why they want the Doctor-Donna yet, could be they only want my help- to make her useful to them or something."

Amy frowned, her voice breaking a little. "And what about _you_, what about when _you're_ no longer 'useful'?"

The Doctor glanced away, still smiling, though it seemed a little more fixed now. "I'll think of something."

He took one more step back and the woman's arm shot out like a cobra strike, yanking the Doctor away from Amy so hard the Scottish girl nearly fell. Jack caught her and held her upright, tensely holding her back as the gardeners surrounded the Doctor.

As one, they stepped back into the bushes- the air shimmered, like a mirage, and the roses and gardeners, and the Doctor, dissolved- vanishing into thin air.

X

"We have to go after him!"

Jack grimaced. "Look, Amy- whatever it is, the Doctor thinks he can manage. We just have to wait."

Amy threw her hands into the air, feeling her worry fuel her anger.

"NO! No he can't- couldn't you tell? And we can't just _sit here_ and hope everything will be alright."

Jack sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. The worse part was he knew- he knew what she was saying was true. He knew the Doctor wasn't sure he could escape this time.

But…..

"The problem is Amy- I can't put you in danger."

Amy let out a scream, and threw the last cup on the table to the floor- watching it smash and breathing heavily. Jack got to his feet, shocked.

"Amy?"

Amy felt a tear run down her cheek and wiped it away furiously with her fist, smudging her mascara and rubbing that off her face with the heel of her hand.

"I am sick and tired of people telling me I can't look after myself. The man I _love_ is out there- being forced to do something against his will. He could be being hurt or worse- and he doesn't know if he can get out alive, and _you-"_

Amy drew in a deep breath, glaring at Jack with all the fire she could muster. "_YOU_ are telling me to sit here- for my safety?"

"No. He's telling you to stay here for his." A weak but amused voice came from the doorway, with a slight London accent.

Amy and Jack spun, to see Shaun propped up against the doorframe, looking exhausted and sore, but about a million times better than he had been.

Amy blinked. "I'm sorry?"

At the same time Jack stepped forward, holding out his hand. "Captain Jack Harkness."

Jack looked at Amy and raised his eyebrows. Amy bit her lip, stepping round the table- carefully avoiding the shards of glass and china gleaming on the floor.

"Um, yeah, sorry, I'm Amy Pond."

Shaun was staring at Jack through his slightly swollen eyes in blatant shock. He pushed himself off the doorframe and turned left down the corridor.

"Hang on." He called, coughing a little.

Amy frowned at Jack and he shrugged, before staring back down the corridor. His whole body was tense, and he refused to look at her.

Amy fidgeted a little, nervous. Finally, she let out a huff of air and spoke.

"I'm-I'm- sorry. I'm just really…"

Jack turned around, smiling a little, and nodded briskly. "It's alright. I know."

There was a look in his eyes which made Amy stare, even after he'd turned to watch for Shaun again.

"You loved him, didn't you?"

Jack didn't move. There was complete silence. After a moment Jack shrugged his shoulders and leant more heavily against the door frame. He didn't look round this time.

"He's a different man now."

* * *

Poor Jack- he's got a good heart really. Now what- why was Shaun so shocked, in spite of the fact he's never met the good captain? What are Jack and Amy going to do? What's the Doctor going to do? And why has Donna barricaded her mind? Or more to the point- why do the New Gardener's want to get in?

Please do review with comments and questions- I really appreciate them and will try and update ASAP, though it's been hard with the latop situation- should get better now.

Hope you're all still enjoying it!

Kat


	16. Love, plans and pocket watches

**AN**: Hi again! It was great to see you most of you are still reading- and reviewing! Thankyou so much to all of you for still reading:

-JuliaAurelia

-Mrs M Smith

-NinjaGirlRebecca

-TwilightHayley

-kingdomfantasyanime453

Ok, so- this chap's quote!

"_The most powerful symptom of love is a tenderness which becomes at times almost insupportable." ~_

And if you didn't guess (although I'll bet you did, you're a smart bunch) this means angst is a' coming. But then lots of fluffy hurt/comfort. Depends if you're glass is half empty or half full, but hopefully you enjoy it anyway.

So- the Doc's just been taken by the Tarme (New Gardeners) into the rose bushes now surrounding Donna's house to break down the barriers in said woman's mind. We don't yet know why. Also- Jack doesn't want Amy going after him, in spite of the fact the Time Lord doesn't seem too optimistic about his chances. As their arguing this point, Donna's injured husband Shaun walks in, and then rushes out again when he hears Jack's name.

On the gossip side- Amy's desperate to get back to the Doc and taking out on Jack, who doesn't mind cos he feels worried too, which suddenly dawns on our favourite scot- Jack's reply,

"He's a different man now."

And so we start with everyone's favourite alien love interest- currently in the base of pyschic space caterpillars, which is, incidentally, guarded by homicidal roses. Lifes good.

Enjoy!

* * *

"So, what's up?"

The Doctor shoved his hands in his pockets and beamed at the Tarme, who, now in their native form, looked less like humans and more like giant dusty silver caterpillars.

Some kind of leader twitched its luminous violet antennae and clicked at some of the others- the caramel skinned woman who'd been their spokesperson had vanished into the tunnels.

The Doctor held up his hands as he caught the drift of the creatures chitters. "Oh no- no, you don't need to esco-"

He broke off as two soft, powerful mandibles took him by each arm and he was dragged down a small earthy tunnel, carpeted with various eerie flowers.

Finally the flood of caterpillars turned in a serpentine movement that managed to make even the Doctor's skin crawl, and they entered a tiny earthen room lit by luminous plants.

In the centre of it all lay Donna, strapped down and hooked up to all sorts of biotechnological wires and feeder tubes. Her face was vacant, her eyes were closed, and for one horrible moment the Doctor thought she was dead.

But then her chest rose and fell, slowly, inch by inch as the Doctor watched and the cold sweat on his skin evaporated, whilst the Tarme remained silent, antennae twitching, liquid silver eyes expressionless.

The Doctor frowned and shrugged off the soft, crunchy mandibles holding his arms, taking out his screwdriver and scanning his unconscious friend. She was still alive, but barely- brain activity was minimal, her circulation was down to half the average rate- a quarter of that of a Time Lady.

The Time Lord grimaced, placing a hand on Donna's cold cheek and then glaring at the horde of interstellar larvae filling the room.

"What did you do to her?"

The lead female, slightly larger than the others with swirls of lilac round her eyes shuffled forwards. "_**We did nothing. We said, she has barricaded her mind."**_

The Doctor raised his eyebrows, he'd forgotten about that. He ran a hand through his hair, staring at the perplexing truth of Donna's motionless form.

He'd heard of Time Lord's putting themselves into a coma to protect themselves or their minds- but he'd never seen it put into practice, it required a huge amount of skill and knowledge. The kind of skill and knowledge the Doctor had never come close to having, and now never could.

Which meant Donna couldn't know how to do this. But she did.

The Doctor frowned, there was something….something that didn't quite add up. He'd think about it later though, because for now the greatest issue was _why_? Why was she doing this in the first place? What did the Tarme want from her so badly they'd asked him for his help? What was Donna so desperate to hide she'd rather risk death than give in without a fight? Because that was what she was doing.

Confused and anxious the Doctor took Donna's hand, gently rubbing the back with his thumb.

_What are you getting yourself into?_ His thought was desperately fervent and almost unconsciously he tried to send it into Donna's mind, tried to communicate with her in some way.

_It's alright. There's been a hiccup, but it's alright._

The Doctor nearly jumped a foot in the air. As it was he glanced quickly at the Tarme, who remained impassive, and then back at Donna's sleeping face. He could have sworn there was now a slight smirk gracing her lips.

_What do you mean? Are you ok? How are you doing this? Why are you doing this? What's going on here?_

He sensed a slight, exhausted mental chuckle in response to his flood of question-thoughts.

_Not…now…Doctor. Later. Not…..yet._

Donna's presence faded, as if she was exhausted, and her body relaxed a little more into the slab of plant and wood she lay on. For the first time the Doctor realized how difficult it must be for her to communicate with him and keep up her blocks simultaneously.

Gently, he let go of her hand and turned to look at the Tarme apprehensively, shoving his hands in his pockets and tilting his head to the side.

"_**Have you opened her mind?"**_

The Doctor shrugged and smiled. "Don't want to yet."

There was a hissing insectile noise from the horde.

"_**We**__** are the Tarme. You **__**will**__** do as we tell you."**_

The Doctor shifted and sighed, leaning against Donna's stretcher and moving something from a pocket to behind his back.

He straightened and looked down at the dusty, eerie creatures, which were up to chest height on all their many feet.

"I am the Doctor. I am the last Time Lord in the universe. I've seen the medusa cascade and planet 0. I've witnessed the end of the universe. I will _not_ do as I'm told." He finished with a smirk and watched the creatures coldly.

The Doctor moved again, pressing a button on his sonic screwdriver and pointing it at a particular lever on Donna's support systems. There was a whirr, but before whatever he was doing could work the Tarme swarmed forwards in an angry, chittering mass.

As the Doctor was pressed down to the ground beneath the creatures' hairy, dusty bodies he pulled a face, and tried to cover a hint of fear with bravado.

"Well, this is just _brilliant_."

X

"Captain Jack Harkness! _You-_introduced yourself as- _Captain Jack Harkness!_"

Jack and Donna jumped as Shaun came hobbling at double speed back into the corridor. Amy glanced at her watch and bit her lip. It had been one hour and twenty seven minutes since the Doctor had been taken.

Jack shrugged as Shaun came up to the pair of them, staring at Jack with wide eyes, a battered blood red leather journal in one hand and a brass pocket watch in the other.

Jack shrugged. "Right, that's me, Captain Jack." He tried to grin, but Amy could see the worry in the tense line of his jaw.

Shaun shook his head, turning round the diary so Jack and Amy could see where he had it open, what lay on the thick, expensive, creamy pages.

It was a confusion of ink sketches and scribbles, messy writing and smudges, done as if by someone half awake. In the middle of these two particular pages was a messily drawn face- still surprisingly recognizable, and underneath it, in rushed capital letters-

_**CAPTAIN JACK HARKNESS! REMEMBER CAPTAIN JACK!**_

"That's you! She- this is Donna's dream journal. How, the hell, does she know you? She _swore_ you didn't even exist!"

Amy was oblivious to Shaun's outburst, instead she was concentrating on the diary and the pocket watch clutched in Shaun's hand as Jack tried to explain over the man's ever more incredulous outbursts.

Amy was remembering an evening when the Doctor had told her stories- dozens of stories about everyone he'd ever known and loved. She was remembering one story in particular, about a Doctor-to-be called Martha Jones, and a Family of blood.

'_You see, a Time Lord can become human- put their mind and soul into a pocket watch. But when I did, the truth came out in my dreams, I wrote them in a journal, and showed them to her- the one person I loved and trusted enough with my secrets….'_

Amy gasped. "That's it! She needs it! That's why they can't get into her mind- half of it's here!"

Jack and Shaun blinked and turned to her.

Shaun's first reaction was one of outrage, "wait, now the bug things with the evil roses who've _kidnapped my wife_ have been trying to _break into her mind_?"

But Jack grinned. "I can see why he keeps you around Miss Pond- it makes perfect sense!"

Amy gulped and tried to breathe as another realization hit her like a ton of bricks. "It also means he can't help them. What are they going to do to him?"

Jack's expression sort of froze, and then he fixed his smile a little and very deliberately, with a speed that betrayed the awkward calm settling over him, took the pocket watch out of Shaun's raised hand and marched back to where the Doctor had been taken.

Wordless, Amy and Shaun ran after him.

Shaun seemed about ready to explode, and now he knew what it was, his eyes were focused solely on the pocket watch in Jack's fist as he marched onto the veranda.

Amy, too, was focused on the watch, but for an entirely different reason. She grabbed Jack's arm, and as the captain tried to pull away she promptly bit his fist. Jack swore and Amy caught the pocket watch.

Jack stared at her. "What the HELL are you doing? I _need_ to go, _now!_"

Amy shook her head. "No- _I_ need to go! Don't you understand that he needs me?"

Jack grabbed her shoulders, panicked and frustrated. "And don't _you_ understand that I _can't die _and I _can't_ let you be hurt. Don't you get that?"

Amy opened her mouth to reply when Shaun interrupted, hobbling in between them, the diary clutched firmly in his hand.

"Why don't you _both_ go and save my wife?"

Amy and Jack paused, staring at the injured man.

"I _can't_ go- the state I'm in, I'd just get her hurt, but I'm just as worried about her as you two are about your Doctor, alright?"

Shaun stared Jack straight in the eyes. "And if you don't get her back pretty damn soon, I swear, immortal or not, I'll come and kill you myself."

Amy could see the admiration in Jack's face, in spite of the venom in the other man's voice. The captain snapped a quick salute. "Yessir!"

Shaun turned to Amy and nodded to the pocket watch. "I'm trusting you with that. I don't know you, but... I can tell that you want him back as much as I want her."

Amy bit her lip and nodded. "Of course I understand, and I will get her back."

Shaun smiled, holding tightly on to the diary and nodding a little.

Jack grabbed Amy's shoulders and she turned to face him, blushing a little at how awkward she felt, their relationship had hardly been anything but turbulent, and yet there was real affection in his eyes when he gave her a roguish smile.

"Look, Amy, you're brilliant- remind me a lot of myself. I know it would take a lot more than a herd of buffalo to stop you going after him, but I _have_ to know that if I tell you to run, you will. Because I know I'll be fine, but I know neither of the two of you will if you're hurt, ok?"

Amy nodded, though she crossed her fingers behind her back. Jack grinned, put his arm through hers, and together they walked down the garden- to the roses.

* * *

Beware the roses...

Hope you liked this chap- wonder what's going to happen now- and what's Donna been planning? Clearly something- due to her conversation with the Doctor and the fact she has a pocket watch. Plus- what's going to happen to the Doctor now?

As ever, reviews are hugely appreciated, if just one or two words so I know who is still interested- I welcome all criticism, queries and comments, so please don't hesitate!

Thanks again for reading this silly ramble- I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I do writing it,

Kat


	17. Bring it on

**AN: **Hi! Ok, looks like my crazy author melodramatic drop in self esteem was unnecessary- thankyou also to:

-MaryAndMerlin

-KatyAliceCullen

- I Am Spartacus

-EmaleeKaye

-Rain (Tarme namer ;) )

- emoboylovr1324

Ok well done LilyHale21- last chap's quote was by Victor Hugo. One point!

This chap's quote is anon- but there's a reason I've included it...

_I self destruct every relationship so that I don't get hurt... but in truth I just hurt myself worse in the long run.. (anon)_

Hopefully you all remember what happened last chap, but basically:

- Donna has a time lord pocket watch

-her husband is hurt

-the Doctor is kidnapped

-Donna has a plan

-Amy and Jack are going to rescue the Time Lord's- but have to get past the rose bushes, or Nando Maua

Ok, enjoy!

* * *

The Doctor was in the dark.

It was some kind of hole, lower than the rest of the Tarme's base. As his eyes slowly adjusted he realized there was a door, metal and locked, about 5 metres away from him. He began to walk towards it when he noticed another particularly important detail about the room.

Every wall was carpeted by strange, yellow vines, streaked with light blue, adorned with thousands of white blossoms- and over everything, over the door, the vines, the floor- everywhere was a fine, white dust.

The Doctor felt his stomach drop and bent, dusting his fingers with some of the powder and raising it to his nose. A sharp citrus odour, with a bitter edge, flared into his nostrils, and the Doctor wiped off the powder as if he'd been burnt. He eyed the flowers with new respect.

"The Hathoria, eh? I suppose it must be my turn to face the Chimèrion Réaliser…"

Outside his prison, an oversized alien insect watched with impassive silver eyes.

X

Amy could feel her heart pounding, it was thudding in her ears like a hammer on cloth. Holding onto each other tightly- though it seemed Jack was only doing so to support the Scottish girl, the pair stepped towards the roses.

Amy could practically feel the perfectly manicured lawn taking her weight, each blade of grass bowing beneath her converse. She tried to swallow, drily, eyes fixed on the beautiful petals of a blood red rose at her head height.

A beautiful blood red rose which could in fact be an alien species called the Nando Maua which emitted a deadly corrosive gas whenever an enemy got near.

A beautiful blood red rose which was the first wall between her and the Doctor.

Amy took a deep breath and stepped deliberately, head held high. Jack looked at her and grinned a little.

"Ok, so you know, if anything happens…"

Amy nodded. "I hide behind you. Yup. Got it sir."

Jack nudged her playfully with his elbow, trying to cover up his fear with bravado. "Hey! It's captain to you Missy."

Amy grinned, and took another step, then caught her breath. They were standing directly in front of the roses now, she could see the veins on the lime underside of a papery leaf- the exact shades of pink and red blended into each thorn.

Amy didn't dare to take her eyes off the creamy rose the size of her fist directly in front of her.

"Jack." She hissed. "What now?"

Jack took a deep breath. "I like to call it knocking politely. I think you lot call it breaking and entering." Amy flashed him a look and Jack pulled a rueful face at the rose bush. Then his expression became serious, his voice urgent.

"On the count of three, throw yourself to the ground and keep your eyes and mouth shut- cover your nose with your hand, alright?"

Amy was finding it difficult to breathe, so she nodded, eyes wide, heart still thudding ever louder in her ears.

She stared intently at the rose in front of her, noticing the attractive blush of yellow towards the core, the way the tips of its petals were almost pure white.

"One."

The rose started slowly moving from side to side, as if it was being moved by the breeze, in spite of the fact there wasn't enough wind to lift a strand of Amy's air. She let out a light, shaky breath, and watched the rose sway like a cobra preparing to strike.

"Two."

The centre of the rose started to twist, the petals blurring into movement as the entire flower began to spin, and as it did, a fine white powder was ground out from the creamy petals- soon there'd be enough to be blown into the air by the rose's motion, covering everything within about a metres distance, and it was just getting faster. Amy's knuckles were white as she gripped Donna's pocket watch tightly in her fist. She and Jack stood and watched the roses- hundreds of them, spinning faster and faster.

Out of the corner of her eye Amy could see Jack's chest rising and falling quickly as he got ready, her gaze remained fixed on the creamy rose before her. One speck of pollen rose into the air…

"THREE!"

Amy threw herself to the ground, tucking her head in, closing her eyes and covering her mouth and nose with her free hand.

Above her she could hear Jack yelling, branches snapping and a hissing sound that was what she'd imagine a pit of angry snakes would sound like.

She whimpered as some of the dust settled onto the exposed skin of her neck where her hair wasn't settled, and she knew it wouldn't be long before the rest began burning through her shirt into her back.

Suddenly a strong hand grabbed her by the back of her shirt and threw her forwards, Amy let out a little shriek- imagining the rose bushes and their deadly flowers rushing forwards to meet her. Instead, she went through thin air, landing hard on what felt like Earth.

She kept her hand over her mouth and nose, and her eyes tight shut, feeling tears running down her cheeks where the pain in her neck was becoming unbearable. She heard Jack shout her name, then felt his hands briskly getting rid of the pollen. She sighed in relief as he brushed it from her neck, and tried to ignore his horrified gasp.

"Can I open my eyes now?"

Her voice was muffled by her hand, but she wasn't about to risk losing her sight- she had no idea how Shaun had managed not to.

Jack gently took her hands from her face, trying not to stare at her neck, where the raw burns could just be seen edging round to the front.

"Yeah. Ok, as plans go, that wasn't the best."

Amy shrugged and smiled, trying not to flinch too much as she did. She was pretty sure Jack noticed anyway.

"It's ok, we're in now, and that wasn't exactly…subtle, so we'd better get going."

Amy turned and stared at the three identical tunnels leading in different directions. She let out an impatient breath. "This is such a cliché! Which one do we pick?"

Jack smiled brashly. "The left one."

Amy frowned. "Why?"

Jack shrugged. "In the movies, the right one is never right, and straight ahead is too easy."

Amy raised an eyebrow and Jack shrugged, dragging her towards the left hand tunnel as a hissing, clicking sound began to echo up the right.

"Thank god for clichés eh?"

X

The Doctor sat slowly on the dust covered earthen floor. He knew he couldn't make it out of here. On a whim, he pointed his sonic at one of the vine covered walls for a few moments, then flipped the screwdriver back into one of his pockets, smiling to himself.

He leaned back on his hands and surveyed the room- before he began to talk to the strange yellow vines, the Hathoria.

"A plant found once every million years- nearly destroyed for the millennia of pain you bring with your discovery. Hated for the way you haunt the Yeria galaxies, the way you torture every life form in the universe with a bizarre mixture of excessive psychic power and semi sentience, coming together in a certain pollen. A _dust_"

The Doctor ran his fingers through the dust he sat in- it was finer than chalk to the touch, but similar, he raised his eyebrows as he watched it sift to the ground.

"A dust which induces a particular hallucinogenic state which tortures the victim with truths they fear, or find difficult to acknowledge. In human terms, an illusion constructed of faerie lies- the truth said a certain way is enough to drive anyone insane if you tell it right."

Thoughtful, the Time Lord surveyed the motionless vines, streaked with powder blue.

"I wonder how they got you here? I suppose I shouldn't be surprised- the Tarme have always had a very close relationship with flora. Even species as malicious and rare as you…"

He trailed off as the dust began to rise, twisting and shifting and changing color to form an incredibly life like imitation of Amelia Jessica Pond.

The Doctor sat forwards, eyes hard and reckless. "Go on then. Show me what you've got."

* * *

Oooh what now? I'll wiat for your questions this time- hope you enjoy it!

I can't update till tomorrow- am getting my gcse results today- so worried!

Thanks as ever for reading, I hope you still enjoy it!

Kat


	18. Alice

**AN: **Hi! Unbelievably, there are STILL people who read that I haven't acknowledged- I can't tell you how much I appreciate it, thankyou also to:

- Shadow Fox Ghost

- FallenSyren

- TvShowObsessed2

Also thanks to everyone for wishing me luck- I got the grades I wanted and now have a scholarship to my new college!

Ok, this chap's quote:

_Two souls with but a single thought, two hearts that beat as one._

Ok, last chap- the Doctor's been forced to face some kind of hallucination caused by a dust that comes from a plant called the Hathoria. It takes truth and twists it- makes it painful.

Also, Jack and Amy have gone to save him- they've broken into a labyrinth of earthen tunnels, and Amy is severely burn on the back of her neck by the roses.

We start with the Doctor- Enjoy!

* * *

The Doctor watched the form of Amy, and couldn't help his hearts aching- wanting her back, wondering if she was safe- feeling his stomach drop when he considered the possibility that she wasn't.

The Dust Amy shifted, and the Doctor felt his attention snap back to the here and now, trying to encase his hearts once more in ice.

The Dust Amy's eyes were wild, and her stomach swelled out- she was pregnant, (_again?_) and seemed panicked.

One of her hands flew to her stomach, holding it protectively as she ran across the room in front of the Doctor and the walls melted away, revealing a dark alley. To the right he could see the familiar shape of his TARDIS, looming at one end of the alley- and Amy- Amy was _running away_.

The Doctor frowned, getting up from his crouch, unable to help himself.

"Amy!" Behind him, he heard himself shouting after her from where the TARDIS had landed.

The Doctor spun wildly in synchronization with the human girl, to stare at the bow tie wearing Time Lord at the end of the alley.

"Come back, Amy, please. You've got to understand this!"

Amy shook her head, tears streaming down her face, hair wet and dripping. The real Doctor looked up, and realized that in this hallucinogenic alley it was tipping down with rain, he looked back at Amy, still sobbing as she spoke, both hands over her stomach.

"No- YOU don't understand Doctor. I **LOVE** you, but I can't let you kill her- she's _MY BABY!"_

The Doctor looked back at himself, confused, feeling a weird wet chill as the fake rain soaked him too. The other Doctor's face twisted into one of rage.

"You have NO IDEA what you're doing Pond!"

"NEITHER DO YOU!" Amy screamed back, and then she spun, feet slipping in the filth and gravel, sobbing her heart out.

The Doctor spun to look at the copy of himself, who was just standing there, watching a pregnant Amy who clearly needed help, running away in the rain. The real Time Lord walked up and grabbed his copy's jacket, shouting in fury.

"Well go after her then! You can't just leave her! What kind of _fool_ are you?"

But the fake Doctor just ignored him, and slowly the image melted into darkness.

The Doctor spun round, running a hand through his hair and trying to peer through the darkness that had swallowed everything. He couldn't help worrying for the pregnant Amy, though in his mind he _knew_ it had to be illusion- it was still far too _believable. _

The Doctor jumped as a tiny speck of color rose into the hair, turning into a column of dust which became the shape of a woman dressed in nurse's uniform. Not Martha, someone he didn't know. The Doctor frowned, and then he heard Amy screaming.

Panicking, unable to see anything except the back of the nurse, the Doctor tugged at his hair, and wondered when this would end.

X

Amy and Jack came to a panting stop somewhere in the earthen tunnels, now utterly lost. A daisy like plant lit the floor and roof with luminous blue petals, so they could see well enough. The problem was that there wasn't much to see.

Amy looked at Jack, clutching Donna's pocket watch tightly in her right hand. Jack brought his fist to his mouth, looking both ways with wild eyes. They didn't have much time- didn't know how long they had.

Jack punched the air, starting to stride down one tunnel and then going back up to where Amy was standing, biting her lip.

"This is- agh, what now?"

Amy shrugged, holding up the pocket watch, "maybe we could ask Donna? The Doctor told me once he helped this kid…"

Jack quickly put his hand over Amy's, covering the watch. "Are you crazy Pond? We're dealing with some of the most psychic beings in the universe, we're in the heart of the base with no idea which way to go next- that watch will bring them down on us like a swarm of wasps!"

Amy glared, " as if they're not coming already? Besides- I'm not going to open it!"

Jack frowned and Amy smirked.

"Like I said," she held up the watch, staring intently at it's silver gleaming side, then glancing up at Jack, grinning, "we're just going to ask her."

An orange red light wisped out around the edges of the pocket watch, and a warm, amused voice echoed half in the pair's ears, and half in their minds.

"_Well that took a while. First of all, turn right, and no- Jack, you're gorgeous, but the movies aren't always right."_

Amy's grin widened into a smile as her fingers wrapped around the pocket watch and grabbed Jack with her left hand, running down the right hand tunnel.

"Thanks Donna!"

X

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Amy's form, and the rest of the scene, melted into existence. The Doctor stepped forwards eagerly as he saw the first strand of damp red hair begin to colour the dark.

Slowly Amy's face came into view, full of pain, and though the Doctor knew it was fake, he couldn't help reaching forward to brush away the pain.

The scene froze and reformed, and Amy was sat up, cradling a beautiful baby girl, fast asleep and wrapped in a blanket in her arms. As she watched her daughter sleep, a tear ran slowly down Amy's cheek. She leaned down to kiss the little ones forehead.

"It's alright little one, my little Alice."

The Doctor felt a lump form in his throat, remembering being on Earth with her 200 hundred million years ago, remembering sharing a painful truth, a story.

"_My wife, Alyssa."_

A nurse came and gently took Alice from Amy's hands, carefully laying her down in some kind of glass tank next to Amy's bed. Amy, exhausted, filthy and weak, but still radiant with love, turned her face to look at her little girl, holding out her hand as another tear ran down her cheek.

"It's alright Alice. He's not here right now, but he'll come back, and it'll all be ok." Amy choked a little on the last word, her voice breaking, and the Doctor felt his hearts break with it.

_It's all an illusion_, he told himself, desperately, and the image dissolved.

It was only a few moments before another image appeared, this one of a tiny little girl- who must only have been 2 years old at the most. She was one of the most beautiful things the doctor had ever seen- with wavy auburn hair and...

The Doctor stepped closer to the girl, lying in what looked like Amy's old single bed. Her eyes were a very particular hazel- a mix of grey and green and blue. The Doctor closed his eyes- remembering the fake version of him watching Amy run away.

He opened his eyes again when he heard her voice, the voice of his Pond.

"Hey Alice, what are you still doing up?"

The little girl pouted, then smiled and put her hands on her covers. "You haven't told me the story yet!"

Though he knew she was fake, was repeatedly telling himself the truth when he remembered, the Doctor couldn't help starting to like this little girl- so like her mother.

Amy raised her eyebrows, looking as beautiful as ever in an old shirt and pair of jeans. She sat on the bed and Alice flopped down, letting her mother pull the covers up around her.

"What story would that be?"

Alice giggled. "You know silly- the one about the Doctor- the raggedy Doctor, Daddy!"

Amy bit her lip, eyes momentarily darkening before they lit up again. "Why don't you tell me, you know it off by heart Al."

Alice giggled again and grabbed her mother's hand in hers. "Cos you tell it best Mum." The little girl smiled and her eyes became grave- far too grave for a two year old. Actually this girl was far too intelligent for a two year old, full stop.

"You tell it best cos you've met him. And you love him."

Amy nodded, smiling a little, "you pull that out my mind little one?"

The Doctor blinked, but Alice laughed and shook her head. "Didn't need to, it's obvious when you tell the story."

Amy pulled a melodramatic grimace. "You read me like a book-cheeky monkey. Well, before we start, can I just check?"

Alice smiled and nodded. "Course."

Amy smiled back then leaned forwards, pressing her ear against the left side of Alice's chest, listening to her heart beat. Then she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and moved to the right side. The Doctor caught his breath, and Amy herself let out a long, shaky sigh.

She kissed Alice on the forehead, then sat back on the covers. "Ok, once upon a time, a long time ago-"

"17 years 8 months 4 days 2 hours 58 minutes and 3 seconds," Alice interrupted.

Amy smiled a tight smile and nodded, " yeah, that long ago, I was sitting in my room, praying to Santa for someone to help with the crack in my wall…"

* * *

Little Alice is their daughter then- with a couple of Time Lord attributes, and Amy's by herself. But this is just a dream...made out of a truth that has been or will be...

Donna! Hello again! Lets hope she can help Amy and Jack find the Doc before the vision gets too vicious...

As ever, I really appreciate all reviews, comments, questions and criticism- it helps me write this story in a way to make it more enjoyable, so feel free to drop me a line!

Thankyou once more for reading, I hope you're still enjoying it!

Kat


	19. Heart broken

**AN:** Hi-sorry this took so long, thanks so much for all the congratulations on my scholarship! It's exciting, but I'm still doing an art course and I've got a heck of a lot of work to do, so I've been a bit distracted- doesn't mean I haven't forgotten you lot though!

This chap's quote:

"_Absence sharpens love, presence strengthens it." ~_

Ok, so last chap Amy and Jack broke into the Tarme base- causing Amy severe burns on the back of her neck from the roses- they're in a labyrinth of earthen tunnels in which they promptly got lost- Donna's helping, or rather her pocket watch is, but it won't be long before the space bugs find the intruders...

Also, the Doctor is facing a particular hallucination created by a plant called the hathoria, so far, he's seen a pregnant Amy running from a future version of himself, and then her child, Alice, named after his wife Alyssa. He then saw Alice at a young age, and there's a lot of proof she's a Time Lord, also that Amy tells her the story of the 'raggedy Doctor' every night, and both are waiting for him to come back.

We start with Jack and Amy- Enjoy!

* * *

"Woah there, looks like we've finally got company."

Jack grabbed Amy, hauling her to a stop as a horde of giant caterpillar like creatures swarmed out of the dark tunnel before them. Amy's eyes widened and she turned to run. Jack didn't move.

Amy grabbed his jacket, tugging at his sleeve, eyes wide as the huge creatures, chittering, clicking and hissing came closer and closer. "Are you INSANE? Come _on!_"

Jack grinned and shook his head. "Nope, I can buy you some time this way."

Amy frowned. "Are you stupid? You can buy me all the time in the world, but without you I'm not going to get anywhere!"

It was Jack's turn to frown. "You're the Doctor's companion- I'm sure you'll think of something."

Amy rolled her eyes. "Ok, then I don't _want_ to leave you, you might not be able to die- but I'm sure you can feel pain, and that's not fair."

A flicker of consternation flashed across Jack's face as he looked at the scot, and the angry red wounds stark against the white skin of her neck.

The insects were closer now, and bits of dirt fell onto Jack's head, he looked up, then down the tunnel to where the horde was barely one hundred metres away.

"GO!"

He shouted, pushing Amy away from him. But he was too late, as, reluctantly, Amy turned to run, feeling the burning responsibility of Donna's watch in her fist, another host of creatures came from the other end of the tunnel, the pair were trapped.

Amy felt her mouth go dry as she watched the mass of black, glistening, crunching mandibles coming closer and closer. She backed up so she was against Jack, and felt him tense.

Eyes wide, still staring at the creatures coming closer and closer, Amy put her left hand down, taking Jack's. He squeezed her slender, childlike fingers, and took in a shaky breath as the roar of the angry insects became deafening.

Somehow, above it all, Amy heard his whispered words, desperately full of a hope he barely clung to.

"It's Ok Amy. We're gonna be alright."

X

Alice, Amy and the bedroom faded, and the Doctor quickly rubbed away a few tears from his eyes, having listened to Amy faithfully recount their story, easily smoothing over her pregnancy, as if she'd done it a hundred times.

The Doctor shook his head, considering that and feeling an ache in his hearts to match the sick feeling in his stomach.

The darkness began to lighten, gradually, and then suddenly a thousand images of Alice growing up, as if he was fast forwarding through her life, were broadcast into the Doctor's mind.

Her first day of school, her learning to ride a bike, her first snowman, her first trip to Scotland. Often Rory would appear as a friend in the background, helping Amy out as she tried to raise the spirited girl alone. The Doctor felt a swell of gratitude that his little Amelia had beaky at least.

He watched Alice become more and more intelligent, and so beautiful. He saw her starring as an angel in her first Christmas play, singing with carolers, and constantly getting into trouble for wandering off to explore. He saw her writing books and books of notes, questions and observations- watched her bewilder Amy with astro physics and entertain her neighbours with flamboyant productions. He saw her decide to become a detective at twelve after reading Agatha Christie and spending the whole summer performing minor and incredibly successful PI jobs for a sherbert or a pack of jelly babies- which she seemed to love almost as much as he did.

The Doctor found himself smiling as he watched this little girl grow up- this fantastic, beautiful, odd, feisty little girl. He was barely aware of the tears running down his cheeks.

Her life began to slow at around 15. He saw her first kiss, by a lake, and saw her get a scholarship into the college of her choice. Finally, she turned 16 and a scene melted upwards into existence.

Alice, now sixteen and beautiful, with piercing blue grey eyes, clear, light skin and a mass of wavy auburn hair burst into the house, wearing her favorite blue woolen bobble hat and a toggled coat much like her mothers. She was crying.

The Doctor's first instinct was to go to her- but she couldn't see him, had never met him, and so he watched as Amy came running from the kitchen, hands covered in flour from her latest attempt to make cookies. (It turned out she was an appalling cook- Alice, a natural since she first made hot chocolate at five, normally took culinary duties, but Amy never stopped trying to do what she thought a mother should.)

Amy wiped her hands on her apron, already stained with egg, flour and spilt milk, pulling the thing off and running to wrap her arms around her daughter.

Alice collapsed, sobbing into her arms. Perplexed and worried, Amy held onto her daughter, stroking her hair. "Shhhh, baby. Shhhhh Alice. It's Ok. Gotcha."

The Doctor jumped a little and then shook his head, smiling bitterly to himself, stepping closer to the scene, putting a hand out to stroke Alice's hair. He closed his eyes as his fingers tingled a little, touching the dust that was creating the illusion, but he couldn't make himself believe the girl wasn't real. Or wouldn't be.

"Gotcha." He murmured.

After a while, Alice calmed and Amy lead her to the sofa, sitting her down.

"Go on Li-Li, tell me what happened."

Alice sniffed and rubbed her eyes, then looked at her mother with eyes that had always been far older than she was.

"I'm not- I'm not, _mad_ am I?"

Amy's eyes widened. "Wha- No! No of course you're not, what brought that up?"

Alice shrugged. "Well, I was hanging out with Liz, and we were talking about- y'know, stuff. Anyway, she asked me about my Dad…"

Amy's mouth opened, in comprehension. The Doctor could practically feel her empathy, and hated himself for the pain he'd caused both of them.

Tears were once again running down Alice's cheeks as she continued. "So I told her- I've known her since I was four, and she said I should be locked up after laughing at me, and I said that she should be locked up for having no imagination, and she said it was all very well to have a lively imagination as long as you could control it. And I said I obviously could, I just didn't try to conform to anyone else's ideas, and that she should think about that, and then I left. I got about halfway here when I started crying."

The Doctor couldn't help smiling a little as he stood watching the pair's conversation. She was so like her mother, even tucking her hair impatiently behind her ear, as Amy did so often, and at the same time so like he was- in the way she needed to catalogue and recount everything at about a million miles an hour, with no intention of reciting anything but the truth to those she loved.

Alice sniffed and looked seriously at her mother.

"Mum- he's not real, is he? The Doctor?"

Amy frowned. "Sweetie, of course he is. Not everybody can read minds and has two hearts- who else do you think your father could be?"

Alice smiled a bit, and nodded. "Yeah, right, sorry- that was stupid. But, then, he's not coming back, is he?"

Amy bit her lip, and her voice shook a little as she spoke. "What makes you say that?"

Alice shrugged. "Well, for one thing, you're right, sometimes I do get thoughts from you- and for another, you're always so sad when you talk about him, like you're talking about a dream you don't believe in any more."

Amy let out a deep, shuddering breath and leaned forward, wrapping her arms around her daughter.

"Oh my little one. My little Alice. I don't know if he's coming back- I don't know where he is. I'm sorry."

Both of them began to cry into each others shoulders, Alice repeating again and again. "I knew it…I knew it…I knew it."

Finally, Amy pulled back, putting her hands on Alice's shoulders and staring fiercely into her eyes.

"But I know he loves us alright? I _know_ that."

Alice nodded, staring hard into her mother's eyes, and then smiling a little.

"I believe you."

The scene dissipated and the Doctor stared at the darkness where his love and his daughter had been. "I do. I love both of you."

The darkness lightened for the last time, broadcasting a few more images into the Doctor's mind- Alice moving out, Alice getting her first job in a bookshop, Alice's first article as a freelance journalist, Alice getting into oxford, Alice taking a gap year and rowing up the Amazon…

He saw Alice become an English teacher, turn twenty five and publish her first book. He saw her spend half her time with her mother, and splitting the rest between exploring the world, star gazing and devoting herself to her students. He watched her fall in love.

The boy's name was Harry- and he was, possibly, the only person in the world the Doctor could have approved of- brilliant, dotty, spirited but happy enough to bow to Alice's superior fire, and incredibly kind. Not only that, but he was utterly in love with the girl, ever since he saved her from a fire in their apartment building- running back in in spite of the firemen trying to stop him. They drifted closer and closer, and when he finally proposed, next to the lake where Alice had had her first kiss, the Doctor felt a thrill of excitement for his daughter, proud and happy to see her radiant in love.

Finally, the scene the Doctor had been waiting for came into existence. Amy and Alice, in a dressing room, Alice in her wedding dress. The Doctor was smiling, and he pressed a hand to his mouth to stop himself laughing in delight at how beautiful she looked, he wanted to hear every word the pair said to each other.

Amy leaned forwards, putting her hands on her daughters shoulders. Alice had her hair loose, but little white and sapphire crystal flowers were threaded through it, her dress was simple and elegant, pure white silk with a few crystals drifting down the bodice. She had a simple white veil with a few pink roses around the top, and her makeup was natural. She wore antique crystal earrings, and a simple silver necklace that the Doctor had seen Amy wear.

"You look beautiful Li-Li."

Alice grimaced then laughed. "Ugh, Mum, you make me feel like I'm a kid again."

Amy raised her eyebrows and kissed the top of her daughter's head. "You'll _always _be my little girl."

Alice grinned. "Cliché" But she blushed happily, too.

Amy noticed her daughter's hands fiddling with her dress and wrapped her arms around Alice's torso. "It's ok, everything will be fine."

Alice sighed. 'I know- it's just…"

Amy frowned in worry. "Just what sweetie?" Amelia had barely changed at all, the Doctor thought to himself- she still stood proud, and seemed healthy enough, the only sign to show she'd aged were the occasional wrinkles around her eyes and on her brow, faint lines from bringing up her daughter, and a few gleaming silver hairs.

"I love Harry, but-"

Amy's frown deepened. "Do you not want to marry him? That's fine, I can cancel the wedding."

Alice shook her head. "No-No, I want to go through with this. I just wish He was here, that's all."

Amy's eyes filled with pity and her arms tightened around her daughter as she kissed her head again. "I know, Alice, I know. It's ok, I gotcha."

Alice nodded, briskly wiping a tear from the corner of her eye, then flapped a hand at her mother. "Go on then, quick, you'll make me an emotional wreck before the weddings even started."

Amy laughed, and the Doctor could see tears in her eyes too as she stared at her beautiful daughter, ready to be married.

"Right, got it- don't be too long though, we've got a time limit!"

Alice smiled, "I know Mum. Wish me luck!"

Amy, who'd been shutting the door, froze and then said, "oh, of course! Good luck!"

Alice giggled and then sighed as her mother shut the door. She stared at her reflection, then put a hand to her chest, first on the left hand side- and then to the right.

The Doctor wandered if she'd told Harry- he hadn't seen her do so. Alice got up, brushing the creases out of the silk of her wedding dress.

Then a stranger stepped out from the shadows on the other side of the room.

Alice and the Doctor jumped, and then both wore identical expressions of confusion as the Shadow Doctor, the real one in Alice's reality, came under the light.

Alice stared at his features for a moment, eyes intense and penetrating, noticing the tweed jacket, bow tie, and eyes just like her own. She barely noticed the expression on the Other Doctor's face- stormy and dark.

The real Time Lord did though and tried to push Alice away, though his fingers just brushed dust. "No- no- Alice, can't you see? There's something wrong!"

But Alice couldn't see, or maybe she didn't want to. Instead, a beautiful, open smile stretched across her features.

"You're the Doctor!"

The Shadow Doctor nodded, and Alice stepped forwards, quickly, still beaming, eyes shining, light fracturing from her earrings across her cheeks.

"I'm your daughter."

The Shadow Doctor nodded again, eyes still black as the rising storm clearly boiling up inside him. His words were a rough whisper.

"_I know."_

And then, as Alice raised her arms to embrace her father- the father she'd never met, he calmly put his left hand into his pocket, withdrew a shotgun, flicked the catch, and shot her in the head.

The Doctor saw the bullet burn through the air, tried to push Alice out of the way and met dust. He saw the metal blacken the roses on top of her veil, saw it meet her skin…

Alice melted into the darkness- it was as if she'd never existed.

"No." The Doctor whispered, hands clutching the air where she'd stood, radiant and beautiful. The dust kept up the rest of the scene- the Shadow Doctor threw the pistol to the ground and the real one ran at him, trying to punch him and feeling his fist fly through dust and thin air.

The Shadow Doctor simply walked away, and then at last the image faded, leaving the Doctor in the dark. He heard the sound of the door opening, though he couldn't see it. He heard Amy saying she'd heard a shot, heard a scream, heard her desperately trying to wake up her daughter.

"Alice, Alice baby, baby come _on_, my girl, wake up. Please wake up, Li-Li, baby, come on sweetie," Amy choked, becoming more and more panicked. "Come on darling, H-Harry's waiting. L-lovie, little one, open your eyes babe, come on now, smile? P-please, Alice, don't leave me- please d-don't leave me- wake up, please, _PLEEEEAAASSE."_

The Doctor heard Amy's panic turn into heart shattering grief as she began to sob uncontrollably, and in the dark, alone and trapped, he sobbed with her, choking as he cried.

"No…._no_…..no…._NO!_"

* * *

I'm sorry for that.

Now what- Amy and Jack facing danger, and the Doctor- how will he react to this? Will his behaviour towards Amy change?

Again, sorry for the late update, thanks for reading! I hope you continue to do so and review please!

Kat


	20. The anguish of a Time Lord

**AN: **Short chap this time- sorry about last one's heartbreak! Still, please remember this is all VISUAL METAPHOR- the Hathoria are taking FEARED TRUTHS and IDEAS and portraying them in a difficult light. It's a form of torture- of course the Doctor wouldn't do that in reality.

This chap's quote:

_Pleasure of love lasts but a moment, Pain of love lasts a lifetime._

Ok, last time- the Doctor saw himself shoot a hallucination of his daughter- a hallucination he'd seen grow up in fast forward- and when he shot her, he was left in the dark with Amy's screams. Clearly, he is heartbroken, and we left him sobbing 'No'.

Jack and Amy on the other hand are lost in the Tarme's labyrinth base- and now the creatures themselves are descending- in all their space bug gory glory. Will they survive unscathed?

We'll see- enjoy!

* * *

Amy closed her eyes as one of the creature's hairy, spit covered, fang dominated faces loomed above her.

_**NOOO!**_

The tunnel shook, dirt crumbling from the ceiling as a shockwave that rang through the girl's brain roared through the tunnel. Crying out, Amy's hands flew to her head as she collapsed to the ground, feeling her legs go out from beneath her.

The word reverberated again and again through her brain- shaking her thoughts and memories. Yet it felt like whatever the force behind it was was restraining itself. Slowly, the effect faded entirely, and, breathless, Amy got to her feet, feeling Jack do the same behind her.

In both directions dozens of immobile grey carcasses lay on the ground- the light in their silver eyes so dim it was practically non existent.

Amy looked at Jack, eyebrows starting to pull up together, breathing coming heavier and heavier in gasps. He just stared back, shocked- still shaking in the aftermath of 'the word'. Slowly, he took her hand, and Amy let him as they both headed down the tunnel, picking their way over the unconscious creature's bodies.

They said nothing, their skin was clammy, and pale white. Donna's pocket watch was remarkably silent- almost lifeless apart from a faint glow. All of them tried to comprehend the event that had just occurred.

It wasn't so much the psychic shock wave- even to Amy, unfamiliar with such terms, she could guess from a life long interest in science fiction that something like it was what had so brutally incapacitated their attackers.

The thing that was really scaring all three was that the voice had been the Doctor's, and full of the most agonizing pain imaginable.

X

Slowly, the darkness faded- faster and faster, until the Doctor found himself once more in the dust coated room. A circle ten metres in diameter around him was completely clear of the pollen.

On the walls, the Hathoria were shriveled and dying, a shadow of what they had been, the blossoms limp and dead. This plant had long tortured the hearts, minds and souls of creatures all across the universe- but it hadn't counted on the unadulterated power and rage of a Time Lord.

There was a faint snick, and the Doctor looked up- his eyes hollow and face gaunt. In his mind, Amy's screams, and the gunshot that had killed Alice echoed over and over in a kind of awful symphony.

The door to his prison swung open- there had been primitive mental blocks around it, but the Doctor had disabled them with his screwdriver, and under the immense pressure of his mental cry, all the locks had short circuited.

Weak, empty, exhausted- the Doctor struggled to his feet, his breathing ragged. He stood there for a moment- in the middle of the dusty room- the Time Lord victorious. The Lonely god.

Slowly, the raw agony in his expression faded into the depths of his eyes as he hid it away in his heart- nursing his wounds. His features became impassive as he took his first step towards the door- mechanically planning how to save Donna and distractedly wondering where the Tarme were.

As he got to the door, Jack and Amy- whose walk had turned to a run as their worry had gotten out of control, came hurtling to the opening. Breathing fast, Jack glanced at the Doctor- registering the not quite hidden pain in his eyes.

Amy saw it immediately- and with a little moan of worry, love and concern, stepped forwards, going to throw her arms around him- comfort him- tell him it would be alright, as he had for her so many times.

But as she did, the Doctor stepped back- quickly, as if afraid her touch would burn him. Amy froze, confused, eyes full of questions. The Doctor didn't meet her eyes, and Jack watched incredulously.

Suddenly the Doctor took Amy's hand, by the tips of his fingers, as if he couldn't bear to touch her. Almost unconsciously Amy yielded to his cold touch, allowing him to extract Donna's pocket watch. The watch glowed, and all of them heard a single sentence from the Doctor-Donna, her voice warm and rich with sympathy and pain.

"_Oh- you poor thing."_

The Doctor shut his eyes, his fingers wrapping around the watch, letting out a long, shaking breath. Amy wanted desperately to touch him, hold him, help him. But after his first response- she didn't know what to do. So she and Jack stood, silent and motionless, waiting for the Time Lord to speak.

Finally, he opened his eyes. With a gruesomely fake smile, he said, "come on then, lets go."

His voice was hoarse and pain filled, and he blinked, coughing a little, before running down the tunnel, not checking to see if the other two were following.

Bewildered, his companions ran after him.

* * *

Yes- very short, but hopefully you'll see why I've left it alone- it's the impact of what he's been through, and I don't want to muffle it with yarns of plot. That's next chapter.

So most of the Tarme are down- dead or unconscious? And where's Donna? Or at least the rest of her mind and body? And what are the Tarme going to do with her? What was her plan?

I'll leave you to think about that, hope you still like it- sorry for all this angst! It gets better, eventually...but I do sorta need to put a bit of emotion in the story- I'm sorry!

Thanks for reading!

Kat


	21. Surrogate Queen

**AN: **Ok, since last chap was so short this one came quick- but you'll have to give me time for the next ok? I'm not behind..yet but i want it to stay that way. Thankyou all of you for still reading in spite of me trying to break your hearts- there is a reason! You just won't see it, yet.. Anyway

This chap's quote:

_Don't say you love me unless you really mean it, because I might do something crazy like believe it. ~_

Right, so last chap the Doc knocked out the Tarme- saving Jack and Amy. But after the hallucination he's scared to be close to Amy, to even touch her, and she doesn't know why. Also, the Tarme are planning to do something to Donna- she has a plan but she needs her pocket watch. So now the trio are going to find and hopefully rescue their missing metacrisis.

Also, the Tarme's leader was a woman with caramel skin and soft curly hair, and the Doctor didn't see this person when he was kidnapped- she disappeared.

Enjoy!

* * *

At last they stopped- turning left into a chamber utterly different to the others- this one was paneled with clean white tiles, and assorted cylinders pulsed with different lights running up and down their lengths- transparent wires protruding from the top and then trailing down and across the floor in a semi organic way.

All the wires led to the other side of the room-to one place in particular, or rather, one person.

Lying unconscious in the centre- on a different bed in much the same postion, was Donna. The wires led up over her head along an archway, which glowed a weird green, and was veined with some kind of purple ivy. Next to her stood the New Gardener who'd been the Tarme's mouthpiece- a woman with caramel skin and soft brown curls, still wearing her forest green overalls and almost gentle looking- but for her hard, cold silver eyes.

She turned at the trio's entrance, but seemed unperturbed- as if assured that nothing they could do could interfere with her plans. Amy wondered why she hadn't gone back to her true form- like the others. Her line of thought was broken when the Doctor opened his mouth to speak- remembering the haggard way he'd spoken before, and half shuddering in horror, Amy waited for his words.

"They moved her already. Thought so- still…damn it!"

Around Donna's watch, the red orange light Amy had seen before when she'd helped them find the Doctor seemed to writhe uneasily.

Completely disregarding the Tarme woman, the Doctor stepped to Donna's side, scanning her with his screwdriver and cursing in a musical language. Amy frowned, stepping round to the other side of the bed- wary of the woman, who simply stepped back and watched. Jack followed, though he remained half turned towards the hostile alien whilst Amy leaned across Donna's worryingly motionless form.

"Doctor- please. I…I don't know-" Amy paused, unable to bring up his sudden revulsion towards her. She changed tact quickly as Donna's chest heaved and fell in a quick, gasping breath.

"Doctor- what's wrong? How can I help you?"

Unable to ignore her, in spite of the pain he felt every time he looked at her face and remembered those screams, the Doctor met Amy's eyes for a second. Staring into their confused, hurt, concerned golden depths, he lost his train of thought- overwhelmed by seemingly equal measures of love and pain.

Amy's mouth fell open as the torment hidden inside the Doctor suddenly poured into his expression. In a second it was gone, and he ran across the room, scanning one of the flashing columns- and leaving Amy more bewildered than ever.

Suddenly, the Tarme woman spoke.

"It is useless Time Lord. Doctor. The process is begun. Even you cannot stop it now."

Without the chorus of the rest of her hives voices, the Tarme woman was as gentle in her speech as she was in her appearance- in spite of her harsh words, Amy felt as if she meant no harm by them- as if she was merely stating fact.

Whipping her head round to said Time Lord so fast her red hair flew out behind her, Amy clutched Donna's hand as she demanded.

"What? What's she talking about? Doctor- what are they doing to Donna?"

The Doctor ran a rough hand through his hair, so hard he nearly pulled it out, and made a sound of frustration- smacking the nearest column with the palm of his hand so it reverberated with a low hum- though the pulsing continued gently.

Walking back to Donna with agitated steps, his jaw tight, the Doctor looked down at his unconscious friend, pulling out her pocket watch and frowning.

Sighing, he looked up at Amy, and Jack, who was also waiting for an answer to her questions.

"In orded to evolve- to go from a sort of giant caterpillar to a moth, the Tarme have to adopt a queen from another species. Like having a surrogate mother. The more powerful psychically the queen, the more powerful the resulting Tarme after evolution. The healthier the mother, the healthier the..child." The Doctor's voice broke on the word child, neither Amy nor Jack could understand why.

There was a pause, and Amy broke the silence, still confused. "Ok, sure- so…the Tarme have chosen Donna as their queen, why is that such a bad thing?"

The Doctor stared fixedly at Donna's peaceful face as he spoke. "Because in the process of the evolution, the queen's conscious mind- her memories, personality, grasp of language- everything is sacrificed to the hive. It's why they can't use one of their own, whilst powerful, their hive mind has it's flaws- if one was to be sacrificed, all would suffer the consequences."

Jack frowned. "So- stop it. Stop the process- it's just a couple of machines, sonic them off or something." In spite of the relatively blasé way he posed the question, all of them could hear the under currents of anxiety in his voice- as if he half expected what the Doctor said next.

"I can't- if I interfered with the process now, I'd only kill her. Or at least destroy her mind regardless. It's started, and now…now there's nothing I can do."

Whilst Amy and Jack digested this, the Doctor suddenly turned on the Tarme woman, who'd been watching quietly from a few metres away. She'd shown no sign of concern for her comrades- so clearly they'd recovered from the shockwave. However, nor did she bear any hostility towards the Doctor, Amy and Jack- the intruders.

The Doctor, on the other hand, was suddenly furious.

"Why her? Why couldn't you just leave her alone? She was safe! Happy! Settled at last. She didn't _need_ the pain of this life- why did you have to drag her back into it? Don't you realize how magnificent this woman is? Do you have any _idea_ what you're planning to destroy?"

The woman smiled a little.

"Actually, yes." Again, her voice was bizarrely compassionate.

"Unlike the rest of my comrades- I have had time to grow as an individual- learn about the species we have come to adopt."

"The first lady.." The Doctor muttered under his breath, looking at the woman in a new light. She smiled a little and nodded.

"Yes, like that. My name is Gwenyn Bondathi. Gwenyn." She glanced across at Donna's sleeping form.

"She _is_ as you say Doctor. Magnificent. Stubborn, and rude, and…not very peaceful." Amy grinned- it exactly fit the mental image she'd formed of Donna from the start.

Squeezing the older woman's hand, Amy whispered. "_You go girl!"_

Gwenyn continued, "But she is magnificent. When I, on occasion, glimpsed her mind- she is brilliant, fierce and strong. It is with…sadness is the word? Sadness that I now consider our decision to make her our queen."

The Doctor's eyes were narrowed as he listened, Jack's too. But Amy was hanging onto Gwenyn's every word. There was a sincerity in her voice which seemed too nakedly obvious to be put on.

"But Doctor- did you really think no one in the universe would find out- that no one would seek such a prize?" Gwenyn's words became more fervent as she stepped towards the Doctor. He didn't step back, but he looked like he wanted to.

"A _human Time Lord meta crisis_. The only thing more powerful would be a pure Time Lord," Gwenyn raised her eyebrows at the Doctor as she said it. "But we are not so stupid as to think we could control the oncoming storm."

The Doctor frowned, raising his voice- "And you honestly think you can control her? Because she's half human? _That's_ exactly what makes her dangerous- I don't _know_ what will happen when you reach evolution- NO ONE knows the limits of her power- you could end up destroying yourselves as well as her in the process- and then what? It'll all be for nothing!"

Suddenly, Gwenyn's posture changed- she stood more erect and stiffened, as if she was a puppet on invisible strings. The silver in her eyes glowed.

"_**It is a risk we are willing to take. We will harness the power of the Time Lord meta crisis and become the most powerful beings in the universe."**_

As Gwenyn and the hive spoke, the rest of them came slithering in- hissing and clicking, ignoring the intruders they'd previous attempted to eradicate. There was no need now. The process was begun.

They all began to climb up the walls, and Amy tipped her head back to watch, feeling the hairs on the back of her neck rise as each caterpillar curled and took a position hanging from the ceiling much like bats in a cave.

Suddenly the light from Gwenyn's eyes faded, and she stepped forwards quickly.

"I do not have much time- I too must prepare for our evolution. First though- there is a way- I cannot save your friend, but I can let you say goodbye."

Without waiting for a reply Gwenyn made her way over to the archway over Donna, fingers nimbly picking out several thin, translucent wires. Wrapping them around her hands- she closed her eyes.

The machine began to hum, and Amy felt a slight vibration in her mind as Gwenyn controlled the contraption mentally.

The lights began to pulse faster and faster, and suddenly, Donna's eyes flashed open. She gasped for breath, blinking rapidly.

Amy could barely bring a smile to her face, knowing this was the last time she'd see this woman she'd barely had the time to know. Together, all three clustered round her bed.

Jack spoke first, "Donna- are you alright? You're not…in pain?" Amy could hear the Captain's pain in his voice- his helplessness.

Donna said nothing.

Amy leaned over her, "Donna- I.." She broke off as a tear ran down her face and quickly rubbed it away. Her hair parted over her neck, revealing her burns, and she heard the Doctor's sharp intake of breath, but for once ignored him. Donna needed them now.

Taking a deep breath, Amy managed to speak over the lump in her throat, "I'm so glad I've met you. You're really as brilliant as he says- and more." More tears ran down the girl's face and Donna squeezed her hand.

"Shhh. Amy, it's alright. Shhh."

This act of kindness- the condemned woman comforting her, shattered through Amy's last restraint and she began to sob uncontrollably. Jack put his arm around her- careful to avoid her burns.

Looking down at Donna he choked, "You're a magnificent woman Mrs. Temple-Noble. You really are."

Donna smiled a little. "Thanks Jack." She winked and Jack smiled tightly.

Finally she turned to the Doctor. His face was almost impassive but for the worry and pain in his eyes.

"If I don't make it through this-"

Agony broke into the Doctor's face when she said 'if', in a half whisper he interrupted, knowing it was his responsibility to explain that she wouldn't make it through. No matter what.

"Donna…"

Donna shook her head, smiling a little and taking his hand with her free one. "Hush Doctor. Let me speak." The Doctor's agonized protests fell silent, and Donna took a deep breath.

"If I don't make it through this- you have to get over the Hathoria. It wasn't real Doctor. It never was. It's a horrible illusion- but just that. An illusion. Don't let a nightmare define your reality. You know better than that."

The childish fear and pain raw on the Doctor's face and in his eyes as Donna spoke was enough to bring a thousand questions to Jack and Amy's minds- though they couldn't understand what Donna meant, and didn't dare to interrupt her last words.

Donna held the Time Lord's gaze for a moment, and then leaned back and smiled, as if exhausted. "Good." She murmured. She opened her eyes again, and grinned at the Doctor.

"Now, give me my watch."

Confusion washed over the Doctor's face before comprehension dawned on it, and he pressed the pocket watch into her hand, which was strapped to the bed she lay on. The watch began to glow, and whisper. Donna nodded to herself, closing her eyes.

"Alright you lot. Stand back- and I hope to god I'm as good as you think I am."

As they stepped back, Gwenyn dropped the wires, opening her eyes, and Donna sank back into her half-sleep.

Gwenyn nodded at them. "It is done. I…I am sorry."

The Doctor didn't look at her, but Amy and Jack, in spite of her tears and his pain, nodded to the woman who'd realized her mistake too late.

Gwenyn climbed up the walls with insect like ability- though she didn't transform back- and curled into a hole in the wall specially made for her.

The lights dimmed, till the room was almost pitch dark- and those on the arch over Donna's head began to pulse frantically. Jack, Amy and the Doctor could do nothing but watch.

The Tarme's evolution was beginning.

* * *

Oooh- so what now? With Donna's plan will she survive? Or will they all be destroyed?

Keep reading to find out, thanks as ever,

Kat


	22. The triumph of the butterflies

**AN: **All I've got to say is thanks as ever for your reviews- and hopefully you'll get through the 's worth it. Also- I'm glad you all admire and love Donna Noble as much as I do- one of the best companion's from the Russel T Davies era in my opinion- I'm thrilled to know I've gone some way to portraying her.

This chap's quote:

_Love is like a butterfly- it settles upon you when you least expect it_

Ok- so the Tarme have chosen Donna as their surrogate queen, but it means destroying her conscious mind- killing her. She has a plan, but isn't sure it'll work- it involves her pocket watch. Now, the Tarme have begun to evolve- and there's no escape- all the Doctor, Jack and Amy can do is watch- and hope.

Enjoy!

* * *

Above the trio, the Tarme had begun to stretch out, slowly, drawing with them sticky silken cocoons by their forelegs- as if they were pulling sleeping bags over themselves. As the lights on the archway above Donna's head flashed ever faster, a dim glow began to build up around her body.

Amy watched, entranced, as a reddish orange light, close to the colour of burning embers, began to wash over the woman's body, rippling across her skin in gentle washes- at odds with the frantic, shadowed movements of the archway and the room around her.

Suddenly the light burst outwards, shards of it shattering through the dark, and Donna began to literally shine. Almost unconsciously, the Doctor and Jack grabbed Amy's hands. They all knew what was coming.

Donna was going to lose her mind. Literally.

Then her eyes opened- burning red and gold, and she sat up- her hands pulling off her restraints as if they were paper. She saw her friends and gave them a slight nod- then looked up to the Tarme above her.

Her voice was layered with sadness and something else- the powerful compassion of her soul.

"_I'm sorry."_

Then she lifted her pocket watch, cupping it in both hands, and closed her eyes. For a moment she paused- the red gold light flashing around her as she shone ever brighter.

Her thumb moved towards the watch's brass case, and Amy almost thought she heard a faint snick as the watch opened, and then she was being thrown to the floor by the Doctor- one of his arms wrapped around her waist, the other pushing Jack down and then covering her eyes.

Even through the Doctor's hand and her closed eyelids, Amy still caught the after image of brilliant white light burned into her eyelids- and then the Tarme screamed- a horrid, screeching chorus.

Finally, the light faded, bit by bit, and the Tarme fell silent. More time passed, and the room became eerily quiet- leaving Amy acutely aware of the sound of each breath taken, the thumping of her heart- and the way the Doctor's arm felt warm around her- as if nothing had happened.

At last, his hand left her face, and Amy blinked her eyes open- squinting at the light of the white room. She felt his trembling fingers gently brush her hair from her neck, so he could see the burns more closely. She heard his sharp intake of breath, and then the Doctor pulled back, gingerly setting her down before stepping away.

As Amy's eyes finally adjusted, she pushed herself up a little to a sitting position, and gave Captain Jack a reassuring smile- since he was crouched in front of her to make sure she was ok. She was about to take the hand the good captain offered when something incredibly bizarre happened.

A silver butterfly landed on her nose.

Leaning back on her hands and tipping her head, Amy stared at the butterfly, fascinated, her eyes almost crossing as she watched its wings move slowly up and down.

She barely caught the Doctors instinctive, light, affectionate laugh, and spun her head to look at him. As she did the butterfly flew off, and taking Jack's hand, Amy struggled to her feet- disappointed to find the Doctor's face as impassive as it had been since she'd found him.

Trying not to dwell on that, Amy turned away to survey the rest of the room. The columns were all off- no more light's flashed along their lengths and smoke wisped from the seams at their sides. The Tarme were nowhere to be seen- but everywhere, delicate and elegant, were silver butterflies, light swirls of red decorating their wings.

Amy finally turned to look at the Archway where Donna had been- a heavy sick feeling in her stomach. She didn't want to see the woman's dead body- and yet it seemed unlikely she'd see anything else. Still, Amy could hope…

She blinked, focusing on the bed where Donna had lain, and stared straight into her open, living eyes. Amy made a sound half way between a cry and a laugh and sprang forwards, wrapping her arms around the other woman.

"You're alive! You're ok! But….the Doctor-"

Donna laughed, "The _Doctor_ is not always right. You ought to know that by now Amy."

Amy smirked. "Yeah, s'pose."

Both women expected an indignant protest from said Time Lord, but didn't receive one. They met each other's eyes, a mutual feeling of sadness passing through them.

Captain Jack came over, smiling and clapping Donna on the back. She hugged him, winking at Amy over his shoulder as he asked, "it's brilliant to have you with us Donna- but how did you do it?"

"The pocket watch."

The Doctor's voice was admiring, though still less effervescent than it had once been. Donna smiled.

"That's right."

Amy frowned. "Wait- what? Donna- sorry, I don't see what this has to do with the whole evolution thing."

Donna smiled, and raised her arms. As one, the butterflies took off, landing on her in a sort of gleaming coat.

"These are the Tarme- and I am their queen, just as they wanted."

Amy frowned, and she could just see Jack's perplexed expression out of the corner of her eye. Behind her, the Doctor put his hands in his pockets, grinning as Donna continued.

"The Tarme decided to make me their queen- but they didn't understand exactly how powerful, or uncontrollable my mind truly was. From the moment they decided to set out on this course of action, they signed their death warrant- using my mind for their evolution would have destroyed them completely, and yet nor would they change their hive mind.

"I know what it's like to sign your death warrant without knowing it, and I also knew- from the few times they'd attempted to control my mind- that these were some of the last of their race. I couldn't let this be their end as well as mine.

"My human self, meanwhile, was getting more and more afraid- and so I sent for help, knowing Jack would at some point turn up in Cardiff, or at least hoping he would. Then I began to plan.

"I'd already bought the pocket watch from an antiques shop- they didn't know what it was, of course, but I wanted to try and free myself, by siphoning parts of my mind into it. An imperfect, difficult method- but it was something.

"The Tarme changed everything- but suddenly I realized there was a way to save us both in what would otherwise be our destruction. I began dividing myself into the pocket watch and my mind with the help of the chemicals the Tarme presumed to groom me with- I knew eventually they'd kidnap me. You turning up was a shock to my human side, and woke me too soon- the Tarme acted, and I was left without the watch."

At this she turned and smiled at Amy. "Then, god bless you, between you, Shaun, and the Doctor you got it back to me, and so, when the evolution commenced, I released the rest of my mind, consciously controlling it." Seeing Amy was still confused, Donna leaned forward, smiling and taking her arm.

"I shared my mind with the Tarme- their hive mind was decaying from the link they'd formed with me, which was why only Gwenyn could hold a different shape in their native home. But with their abnormal psychic powers, together the Tarme can hold my mind- and so we share a hive mind- my mind, and I remain the Doctor-Donna, and they the Tarme. I am their queen- and they are me."

Amy stared, stunned at the butterflies on Donna's arms, then back at her smiling face. "He's right- you're _BRILLIANT!_" She gave a little, disbelieving laugh, and Donna laughed with her.

"Well, I like to think so."

* * *

We all know you're brilliant Donna :D so what now? Will the Doctor tell Amy? Will Donna travel with them? What next?

I can't tell you much, but I can promise the next few chapters hold a desert, Stellions, Nightmairs and a frozen temporal enigma...

I'll leave you to consider that- feedback as ever is enormously appreciated, so feel free!

Thanks as ever for reading,

Kat


	23. Jack, Domestics and housewives

**AN: **Hello- thankyou for that rush of support last chap- it's nice to kow people are still reading and enjoying- I hope this sequel comes some way to the first. Hopefully my little 'finale' will wrap it off nicely.

A clue for the temporal enigma- omega. Anyone doing classical studies ought to sense the doom in that...

This chap's quote:

_Birds sing after a storm; why shouldn't people feel as free to delight in whatever remains to them?_

Right then- so Donna's safe, the butterflies are the Tarme's evolution, and she's filled their minds with hers after they nearly destroyed themselves. After the Doctor's...experience he's unwilling to be close to Amy- but still loves her. Said Scot was seriously burnt after a certain captain's not so subtle plan to simply crush the deadly roses.

And that's what you missed- last time on Growing up! (sorry, always wanted to write that)

Enjoy!

* * *

Amy flinched a little as the cold gel touched her neck, and then relaxed as she felt it begin to soothe and heal the burns there. Donna leant around to peer in her face, smiling.

"Better?"

Amy nodded, grinning back. "Much."

"You can look now Doctor." Donna called to the Time Lord, who'd been standing with his back turned to the girls- unable to face Amy's wounds after his experience with the Chimèrion Réaliser.

Stiffly he walked towards the redhead, still sat on a half plant, half metal seat which Donna had settled her on after seeing her burns. Luckily for Amy- since Donna was now the Tarme's queen, and the Doctor-Donna, whilst the Tarme's hive memories were practically non existent, she was able to figure out the right plant to use to heal the girl without resorting to the random kitchen concoction the Doctor had had to settle for with Shaun.

Amy held perfectly still as the Doctor's trembling fingers brushed her neck- the skin was once again clean, white and smooth, as if she'd never been burnt. He pulled his hand back- but as he did she grabbed it.

"Doctor- it's ok- I don't bite." She frowned and corrected herself. "Any more."

The Doctor looked like he wanted to smile, instead pain and disgust rose up in his eyes. Amy was still trying not to be hurt, trying not to react to these bizarre mood swings- but it was getting more and more difficult the longer he seemed to be repulsed by her.

Donna, sensing she had become a third wheel, silently set down the pot holding the cure she'd applied to Amy's burns and left the room- going to find Captain Jack.

The Time Lord turned to watch her go, and tried to hide his grimace from Amy. She saw it anyway, and leapt to her feet.

"Right- that's it- what's wrong? Why are you acting like this? What did I do wrong?"

The Doctor sighed, putting his hands in his pockets and trying not to look at her- trying to hide his pain from her. The problem was, he was succeeding.

Amy's eyebrows pulled up towards the centre of her forehead in confusion, the corners of her eyes narrowing slightly. The Doctor wanted desperately to smooth away her frown lines and stroke her hair, tell her it would all be ok. But he couldn't- couldn't let himself be close to her. He didn't deserve it. He couldn't let what he'd seen become a reality.

He shrugged, feigning nonchalance. "Nothings wrong." He gave her his best grin, "Donna's safe, the Tarme are safe- and you're better, everything is fine. Wonderful. Peachy."

Amy blinked, frowning a little. "I- what- then…"

She reached a hand out tentatively to touch his cheek. The Doctor moved away and Amy made a little sound, halfway between a gasp and a low cry.

The Doctor continued looking the other way, and shut his eyes. "I'm sorry, Amy." His voice was barely a whisper. He turned his face to the room's earthen roof, "I saw….I saw some things, and I can't let myself be- be _closer_ to you."

Amy flinched back as if she'd been burnt- a thousand painful rejections from a lifetime of insecurity and confused delusion crashing down upon her like a waterfall.

"I-I don't understand." Her voice rose as tears washed into her eyes, stinging heat brimming at the edge of her eyelids. "You…You _SAID_ YOU _LOVED_ ME!"

Realising how close she was to panicking, the Doctor suddenly snapped out of his attempt at apathy, grabbing her arms and leaning towards her, trying to calm her down. Tears now streaming down her face, Amy shook her head, breathing rapidly, trying to push him off.

"No- Amy. Amy!" The Doctor took a deep breath and checked behind him to make sure the corridor was empty. His voice was still checked slightly as he said, "Amy- I told you my _name._ Don't you understand what that means?"

At this, the fiery Scot suddenly froze- gulping a mouthful of air as she turned her face to him. The Doctor sighed in relief, his stormy eyes searching hers.

"Amy- you know I trust you. I honestly don't know how I can, but it's a choice I've made- and you know I'll stick to it."

He waited for a response, and after a moment, the girl nodded.

"But, I saw…something. Something which means I _have_ to find out how to protect you before I can get closer to you again. Just travel with me. Be my friend, like we were. Just for a bit. I'm sorry Amy- but can you do this for me?"

Amy had gone very still, heartbroken that he wasn't telling her about this mysterious 'something' in spite of how much she knew he trusted her. She simply didn't understand.

She swallowed, stepping back and shrugging off the Doctor's hands. He let them fall.

Amy closed her eyes. "I understand. And I will try- for you. Because I love you. But I can't say how long I'll last before-"

She choked on her words, rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand and half ran from the room-heading the direction Donna had gone.

The Doctor stood erect for a few moments longer, and then he crumpled- falling to his knees in the dirt and closing his eyes, hanging his head- her face hovering behind his eyelids like a ghost.

Her unfinished sentence hung heavy in the air of the empty room.

_Before I'll have to leave you…_

X

When the Doctor came into the antechamber, a butterfly landed on his shoulder. Reminded of one landing on Amy's nose- her bewildered, fascinated expression, and the blush dusting across her cheeks, he allowed himself a slight smile- and then tried to control the feeling of something twisting his gut.

The room fell quiet, and he looked up, nodding to Donna, Jack and Amy- the former pair standing on either side of the Scottish girl. Donna looked at Amy and nodded, giving her a little push. Biting her lip, Amy made her way over to the Doctor.

He couldn't control the slight jump of his heart as she came back to him, but he hid it carefully. He couldn't get too close- couldn't let himself hurt her.

"Alright then, I suggest somewhere hot- but I know I won't be able to choose or control you."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow at Donna. "You think we're leaving?"

Donna shook her head, smiling. "No. I know you are."

The Doctor blinked, his brow furrowing a little, and looked to Amy. She shrugged.

The bewildered Time Lord walked over to the Tarme Queen- Donna Temple-Noble.

"But Donna- I- you only just woke up! There's so much I have to tell you- I mean, don't you want to come with us again? For old times sake?"

Donna shook her head, and the Doctor was reminded of a night, quite literally a lifetime ago, when she was in her wedding dress, and he'd made it snow.

Donna sighed as she read his mind. "The difference is Doctor- this time I'm not saying no because I'm scared. I'm saying no because I have someone who I love, and he needs me right now. I need to explain to him- and see where things go from there. My own adventure."

The Doctor's eyes lit up in realization. _Shaun_, of course.

He sighed and shrugged, trying to act unaffected by the sorrow her choice- to move on- gave him.

"Alright, but you take care- be brilliant. And if you don't mind, I might drop by some time."

Donna laughed as he hugged her, blinking away a few stray tears.

"Yeah, when the earth's in danger, again."

The Doctor winked. "You never know- might be sooner than you think."

Donna smiled. "I look forward to it." She paused, frowning, and a few butterflies fluttered into the air. "Wait- that sounded bad."

The Doctor grinned, then looked back at Amy. The smile faltered, and Donna stepped closer quickly, grabbing his shoulder.

"Please remember what I said. Please. Don't let a possibility control your reality. You know as well as I do the future _isn't_ set in stone."

The Doctor nodded- but Donna could see him struggling for conviction to the agreement. She hoped he'd find his way.

He nodded at Captain Jack, "you coming?"

Jack shook his head, and the Doctor raised his eyebrows. "Why not?"

Jack shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Well, Donna might need some protection with all these new off worlder's in her garden."

If it was possible, the Doctor raised his eyebrows higher in disbelief- looking sideways at a group of delicate silver butterflies. Jack laughed, nodding to the fiery redhead standing behind the alien.

"Look, I've gotta be honest-you've got stuff to work out and me-I don't do domestics unless there's a very sexy housewife involved. This one _is_ sexy-" Amy blushed and Jack gave her a lopsided grin before turning back to the Time Lord. "But she's all yours."

He winked and the Doctor's jaw dropped.

Jack laughed. "Catch you later Doc."

Shaking his head, lips curled in amusement, the Doctor gave Jack a quick, mock salute. "Captain."

* * *

Good Old Jack- and Donna- I hope Shaun understands...meanwhile, lightning in the time vortex, coming right up- anyone remember when that happened in the 'L' word? And you all thought I was just filling space...

As ever, comments, criticism and questions are welcome- and I'll try and reply to as many as possible- I'm sorry I didn't last chapter, I had to prioritise getting back on top of my writing, and packing for college!

Thanks as ever for reading, I sincerely hope you enjoyed it,

Kat


	24. Lightning and a storm

**AN: **Hi- sorry this has taken so long, I'm now on the second last chapter- you've got 12 more to go! I hope you've enjoyed it- from your reviews it would appear so! I'm so grateful to you all- thankyou.

Well done LilyHale21 and FallenSyren, you were right, last chap's quote was by Rose.- one point each! (I think- please correct me if I'm wrong)

This chap's quote:

_"Life has taught us that love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction." -_

Last chap- Donna and Jack told Amy and the Doc to go on and sort themselve out. However- the Doctor finds it difficult to be close to her after the hallucination...

Enjoy!

* * *

"So, um, where to now?"

The Doctor looked up at Amy- the air in the TARDIS was distinctly awkward, and he stood on the other side of the console, using the central column as a barrier between himself and the girl.

He shrugged then put his hands in his pockets. "Dunno- where do you want to go?"

Amy bit her lip- disappointed by his continued lack in enthusiasm. "Well- I know Donna said somewhere hot- but I kinda miss the cold."

The Doctor laughed, "Must be the Scottish Viking in you lass."

Amy giggled at his outrageously bad Scottish accent- and for a moment both of them smiled. It wasn't long though before the moment turned sour and the ship fell silent once more. The Doctor coughed a fake cough, taking a hand from his pocket and flicking a few switches, spinning a dial and pressing an array of buttons.

"So- somewhere cold. In the solar system or out of it?"

After her escapade with Donna and the new gardeners, Amy wasn't sure she wanted to be on Earth right now- she wanted to escape. Actually, she knew it was more the Doctor's behaviour was what she wanted to escape- but this would have to do.

"Out of it."

The Doctor nodded, pulling a lever and making the TARDIS make an absurd sort of noise. He smiled complacently to himself, happy concentrating on his ship as he moved around the console at a leisurely pace. Amy backed up a bit so she wasn't in the way as the Time Lord asked distractedly, "Past, future- no preference?"

Amy shrugged, though he couldn't see her. "I don't mind. Surprise me."

She tried to smile a little, but him acting like she didn't exist wasn't exactly raising her spirits.

The Doctor nodded, oblivious- or seemingly so. "Alright then, off we go."

He couldn't help a beaming smile breaking onto his face as they rocketed into time and space, and neither could his companion- and just for a second, it was exactly like old times.

Then a bolt of lightning struck the side of the TARDIS with a hissing crash, and the pair were flung to the right with some sort of immense force as sparks gushed from the support columns of the gallifreyan ship.

Amy couldn't help crying out as she fell towards the stairs, and braced herself for bone breaking impact even as her arms swung out wildly for the railing. For a second she fell through space, keeping her eyes squeezed tightly shut…

Suddenly a strong hand fisted in the back of her shirt and swung her back towards the platform. Amy's breath left her in a huff as her momentum was reversed and she landed on her behind- the smack was bruising, but not bad. The TARDIS was still shaking violently, and Amy felt the hand that had saved her- the Doctor's hand, wrap around her arm and yank her closer.

He had one arm wrapped around the railing, and with the other he secured her close to him, sheltering her from the metal bars with his body. The TARDIS was so out of control it was impossible for either of them to attempt anything and they waited for her to crash to a stop.

She did, with a resounding thump and a bio-technological screech accompanying one last shower of sparks.

Amy breathed out a sigh of relief, moving away from the Doctor and getting shakily to her feet as he did. She swallowed drily, "Doctor- what-?"

But the Time Lord was preoccupied with the controls, flicking switches, spinning dials, pulling levers and typing instructions as he checked the monitor, occasionally shouting in frustration and hitting or kicking the console.

"WHAT?_NO! _Ugh! Why are you _doing_ that?" Suddenly his rage turned into concern and he patted the most recently abused part of the console, murmuring to his ship.

"Come on girl- what's wrong? Why are you doing this?"

Meanwhile, something caught Amy's eye. Entranced, she walked over to it- eyes wide, thinking about witches, black cats and a blind little girl- and a lightning strike in the time vortex that had sent them a decade off course to the other side of the country.

The scot reached out her hand, as if to touch the thing which had her so fixated. She swallowed again, barely aware she was trembling. "D-Doctor…"

There was something in the tone of her voice that caught his attention, and he spun away from his ministrations to the controls to join her- eyes just as wide, a perplexed frown on his forehead.

Together, they examined the huge, jagged black scorch mark running vertically down the side of the TARDIS- it was smoking slightly. Amy turned to the Doctor- hoping for some kind of guidance, or reassurance.

"It's- it's like when we met Dannon and Rosaline, and the witches and that yeah? We ended up in that forest when we were supposed to meet Francis Drake in another decade- right?"

The Doctor nodded, tentatively brushing the mark with his fingers, black dust crumbling off onto his skin. "Yes." He said, quietly. "But on a much larger scale- almost as if…"

Amy frowned, not liking the perplexed apprehension filling her raggedy Doctor's eyes. "As if what?"

He didn't look at her, focused on the wall- but not from an attempt to reject her. Instead he was trying desperately to figure something out. Abruptly he stepped away from the wall, saying as he did. "As if whatever is interfering with the Time Vortex is getting stronger. Or closer. I'm not sure- but anything that strong is really...quite scary actually. Shall we go outside?"

Amy blinked- a hundred questions rising in her mind. She quelled the urge to ask them- she had a feeling the Doctor didn't have any answers yet, so she joined him at the doors. He made sure not to touch her, standing about a foot away- it was like they'd never become close at all, at least until he gave her a cheeky grin, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Ready?"

Amy braced herself, grinning back in excitement. "Oh yeah."

The Doctor chuckled and flung the door wide.

X

"The _outback_! The AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK! The flipping DESERT!" Amy cried, already exhausted and uncomfortable under the heat of the glaring sun.

For once, she'd not needed the Doctor to identify where she was- because in the distance, across a seemingly endless expanse of red sand dunes punctuated with sparse shrubs and grasses, Uluru- or Ayer's rock, stood majestically proud, the only landmark in the area.

She spun to the Time Lord, incredulous, flinging an arm towards the rock. "How is _that_ cold and out of the solar system? It's the opposite!"

The Doctor nodded, glancing worriedly back at the Tardis, his mind undoubtedly on the lightning in the vortex. His voice was low and troubled, "the opposite- exactly. And if it's interfered with the time…"

Amy raised her eyebrows- already fairly calm. Her outburst had been more a result of shock and slight fear than anything else. In spite of her relative distaste for the scorching heat- this landscape did have a certain beauty to it. Though right at that moment she was still too preoccupied with her Doctor's preoccupation to really appreciate it.

She couldn't help her voice dropping in fear as she asked quietly. "And if it _has_ interfered with the time?"

The Doctor frowned. "We're in trouble."

X

"Aaaaah- that's better!"

Amy- now in mini cargo shorts and a white vest top- complete with sandals and an akubra hat, smiled happily- no longer boiling alive as she and the Doctor walked down the main street of Yulara.

They'd both been reluctant to travel in the TARDIS again till they figured out what was wrong- but they couldn't stay in the middle of the desert. They'd been unable to get off the planet- the Doctor had said something about interference with the atmospheric bypass system- which was apparently wired inside the walls of the TARDIS. She could heal herself, but for now it meant all they could manage was a quick hop to the nearest township- Yulara, and 2 days to explore.

The Doctor raised his eyebrows at Amy, "I thought you were upset it wasn't cold?"

Amy shrugged. "Yeah- but it's the middle of the Australian outback, I can make an exception." She went to grab his arm, smiling and the Doctor neatly sidestepped. Amy let her arms fall and tried not to feel hurt.

Suddenly there was a chorus of screams- apparently children, and a black thundercloud twisted out of nowhere towards a building in the street to their right- Winmati street.

The human and the alien glanced at each other and then set off at a run- straight to the primary school.

* * *

oooh- wonder what's going on?

and hopefully you remember the lightning strike now! That's bad- but more of that later...For now, what's happening in Yulara?

Hope you're still enjoying it, thankyou as ever for reading- and please do spare the time to leave me a comment telling me what you think.

Thanks again,

Kat


	25. Adonis and the 'mares

**AN: **Hi sorry, since I'm at my new college, updates will be a little irregular- but I'll do my best. Thanks as ever for all your reviews!

Last chap's quote was by Antoine de saint-exupery- well done LilyHale21- 2 points now! (Oh and by the way- I know, I lived in Aus for three years lol)

This chap's quote:

_If I know what love is, it is because of you._

Last chap- The Doc and Amy ended up crashing into the Aussie Outback because of some sort of interference in the time vortex- which is a big problem. Unable to get off world they ended up in a town called Yulara near Uluru. They were walking happily enough down the street when there was a chorus of screams and an inexplicable black thundercloud twisted out of the sky. Unsurprisingly, the pair ran towards it.

We start a little earlier with a nine year old called Kaitlyn.

Enjoy!

* * *

_Five minutes earlier…_

Kaitlyn had been having a terrible day. First off- she'd lost her homework, and her teacher hadn't believed that she'd really done it. Then she'd found out she'd forgot to bring her cool bag- so her water was half down and way too hot to drink- which meant she was really thirsty. And on top of it all, she had a headache. All in all- life was getting tough on the nine year old- and in 38 degree heat, it was a bit too much.

Sighing, and swallowing drily, Kaitlyn sat on her bag on the veranda of the school building, keeping in the shade and kicking her feet in the dust whilst the other kids played outside- her wide brim hat flopping over her eyes. She glanced at her blue plastic dolphin watch and scrunched up her face as she tried to read it.

Three O'clock. So that meant…ten minutes to go. The teachers had said they could go home, because it was supposed to be getting hotter, but Kaitlyn's Mum had promised to come pick her up at ten past. Kaitlyn sighed again- more because she thought it sounded impressive than an actual need to, and continued kicking patterns in the dust.

Out of nowhere, an AFL ball slammed into the girl's chest, knocking the wind out of her and flinging her back onto the wood, causing her head to crack against the boards with a resounding SMACK.

Groaning, Kaitlyn pushed herself up, taking the ball in one hand and looking around for the culprit- trying not to cry.

Jackson Daniel- all red hair, blue eyes, freckles and smirks came over- laughing at Kaitlyn's shocked expression. He was eleven this year, and he'd been acting like a loser ever since. She narrowed her eyes, brushing some sandy hair out of her face.

"What'd you do that for Jackson?"

Jackson shrugged. "Me and Hayden thought we might be able t' bring ya back t' earth Kaity."

Kaitlyn narrowed her eyes. "What's that s'posed t' mean?"

By this point Hayden had come over- a lanky boy Jackson's age with tufts of black hair and narrow brown eyes. He snickered. "Cos you're a freak stupid."

Kaitlyn leapt to her feet. "I am NOT stupid, stupid!"

Jackson laughed, shoving her back. "Coulda fooled me freak-o."

Hayden clapped his hands, joining in as Kaitlyn shouted- pinching her and pulling her hair. "Oooh- look at me- I can talk to magic horses!"

Jackson roared with mirth, throwing the ball at the girl. It hit her in the head and she stumbled and fell onto the dirt.

"Yeah- magic horses which don't exist!"

Kaitlyn was crying now, but not because she was hurt. Instead she was shouting at the boys, even as they poked and punched and kicked her, "NO! No- don't! _They'll hear you! _They'll come and HURT you! STOP!"

X

The Doctor and Amy rounded the corner- passing the one house before Yulara primary school as the twisting black thunder cloud touched the red earth, and the children's screams reached a fever pitch.

Amy's eyes went wide- a small girl with dirty blonde hair was crouched in the dirt. Two boys- one a redhead and the other with random pieces of black hair sticking up at odd angles were standing over her menacingly.

Amy went to help when she noticed the girl was crying- the bizarre thundercloud momentarily forgotten. She didn't even realized the screams had stopped- that the children in the playground were staring in open mouthed astonishment at a point just behind the sandy haired girl.

The Doctor did notice, and grabbed Amy's arm- stopping her. When she whirled on him, he simply pointed, then got out his screwdriver and ran towards the children as an immense wind picked up from nowhere.

"STAY HERE!" He shouted as he ran.

Amy shook her head, her hat flying off and her hair whipping around her face as she rolled her eyes- sprinting after him.

"As if."

When the Doctor got to the children- the girl was still screaming. He frowned as he picked up her words over the wind now slamming against his body with a physical force. Behind her, a coal black column of cloud was boiling up into some sort of alien form.

"I _TOLD_ YOU! THEY'RE GOING TO _HURT_ YOU! PLEASE STOP!"

Finally losing their nerve, the two boys ran as an enormous stallion with burning coals for eyes reared up out of the cloud.

The Doctor stared, eyes wide and mouth open as the horse brayed, pounding the air with it's hoofs. The children started screaming again, and Amy ran through them, feeling like Moses parting the red sea as she made her way to the Doctor's side.

The wind began to settle down as the Doctor and Amy watched- though the horse remained, and the girl began to cry in earnest. But not from fear.

"Why did you do that Adonis? Now they're _really_ going to think I'm a freak!"

Amy raised her eyebrows as the girl pounded her tiny fists against the forelegs of the nightmare stallion, still crying.

_Leadworth- you thought I was bad…_

Palms forwards- the Doctor slowly walked a little closer, nodding to the horse. "Hello…Adonis, and, ah- I didn't catch your name?"

He was within a foot of the unlikely pair, but seemed unwilling to go closer. Amy couldn't blame him as the thing's burning red eyes turned to him- particles of the coal shifting and rearranging like an iris moving to examine the stranger.

The girl sniffed, rubbing her face and standing up. "What's it to you mister?"

The Doctor shrugged. "I'm just curious I suppose- about you and your extraordinary.." he glanced at Adonis, and just for a second his eyes portrayed a measure of distrust, "friend."

Amy- not having missed this peculiar exchange, narrowed her eyes, at the same time as the girl did.

"Who did ya say you were again mister?"

The Doctor blinked, refocusing on the child. "Oh- I'm-"

"John Smith," Amy interrupted, punching the Doctor lightly in the arm. "And I'm Amy Pond."

The Doctor opened his mouth and Amy gave him a look- this girl was like she was, and she _really_ didn't want to see a Doctor. The Doctor shut his mouth as realization dawned and Amy nodded, barely resisting rolling her eyes.

The red head thrust her hand towards the girl, smiling, and- warily the child took it, giving the woman a hesitant smile.

"I'm Kaitlyn." She beamed a little wider. "Nice t' meet ya."

X

"So, Kaitlyn- how did you meet…Adonis here?"

The Doctor asked casually as the four of them walked back. Kaitlyn had explained her mother was late for picking her up, and the Doctor and Amy had offered to walk her home. Adonis- like a calm, loyal pony, had remained tranquil, walking next to Kaity on the sidewalk.

The nine year old had one arm on his muscular neck- which Amy couldn't help comparing to an oil slick- it looked slimy, and she wasn't sure how the child could stand to touch it. But the pair seemed completely uperturbed by how bizarre they looked.

Kaitlyn shrugged in answer to the Doctor's question. "I've always known him." She smiled complacently, patting Adonis' neck. The stallion snorted appreciatively, swishing his tail.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow, glancing at Amy. She made a minute shrug in response.

"And- ah, what do your parents think about Adonis."

Consternation clouded Kaitlyn's features. "They don't think he exists."

The Time Lord blinked- his mouth opening slighty. "Really- he looks real enough to me..."

Kaitlyn shrugged again, trying not to look bothered. "Well- Adonis doesn't show up much- normally it's just the 'mares. He's here to protect me y'know."

The Doctor looked sidelong at the horse. "Yes. Yes- I think I understand that."

Kaity stopped, walking up to the somewhat aged door of a dilapidated bungalow. "Well- this is home." She patted Adonis again, tiptoeing to kiss his nose.

"Ok Adonis- I'm safe now. The 'mares can look after me here." She threw her arms around his neck. "Sorry for shouting at you- I know you just want to protect me."

Adonis whinnied, nodding his head, and then he turned- galloping up the street and into nothing. The Doctor watched silently- a tiny frown on his forehead, and then he turned back to Kaitlyn.

The little girl smiled widely. "Well- this is the firs' time I've had visitors for me that aren't Doctor's." She wrinkled her nose at the word and Amy sent the Doctor a knowing look.

He rolled his eyes, as if to say- alright already! A small hand grabbed the sleeve of his jacket, tugging on it as Amelia used to do- and the Doctor looked down, almost expecting to see the scot back to her seven year old self.

Instead Kaitlyn's bright blue eyes met his. "Wanna come in for a drink?"

* * *

Hmm- so why doesn't the Doc trust Adonis? And who are the 'mares?

Please do comment- I really appreciate it. Thanks as ever for reading,

Kat


	26. Time and illusion

**AN: **Hi- hopefully this is fast enough for you lot! thanks as ever for all your support- I've now finished writing this fic, it's 35 chaps long (I think) and I hope you'll like the end (I did, if I say so myself.) It will be the end f this 'series', as much as I enjoyed it, all things come to an end. If you want to check out my other DW writing go to my profile, there's a couple, and I'm planning a new 11/amy as well as an arthur/ariadne fic for Inception.

This chap's quote:

_Enthusiasm created from the heart is the spirit of the matter. It ignites your whole system so there's no drag, no resistance, no thoughts like "Do I have to?" coming from the head to sabotage the power of your surrender._

Ok, so last chap we met a little Aussie called Kaitlyn- who just happens to be best friends with an Alien stallion called Adonis who looks to be made of shadow and thunderclouds, and is intent on protecting her. No one believes her, though Adonis seems real enough to Amy and the Doc- and Kaitlyn explains it's because Adonis doesn't often turn up- it's normally the 'mares.

Not often having guests, being excluded like Amy, Kaity invites Amy and the Doctor in for drinks. Also, the Doctor is going under the alias John Smith so as not to scare her off.

Also- lightning in the time vortex knocked them off course. This is bad, but extra bad if it interfered with the time, as in, if the pair are not in 2010 any more...

Ok, enjoy!

* * *

A little confused, but not too unwilling, Amy and the Doctor followed Kaitlyn into her home- hoping her mother was held up particularly long in order to avoid any awkward explanations.

"Milo?" Kaitlyn enquired, opening a cupboard.

Amy turned around in her wooden chair- looking for a boy or pet. Seeing no one she turned back to the Doctor and Kaitlyn- the latter looking bewildered, and the former somewhat amused.

The Time Lord smiled graciously. "Two please Kaity, if you wouldn't mind."

Kaity nodded, tiptoeing to get two glasses out of the cupboard, a bottle of milk from the fridge and a pot of some kind of cocoa with garish green labels reading '_Milo'._

Amy blushed a little, muttering something like, "Australian stuff- how am I supposed to know?"

The Doctor chuckled, absently taking her hand- unaware of how still his companion went at his touch. Instead, he gently rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb, and didn't notice anything wrong until she looked up into his eyes- her ones wide and shining.

Realising what he'd been doing, the Doctor abruptly let go of Amy's hand and she withdrew it quickly, cradling it in her lap as if she'd been burnt and looking away from him.

The Doctor heaved an almost imperceptible sigh- but before either of them could say a word Kaitlyn, oblivious to the tension in the room, placed two glasses of chocolate milk on the wooden table with a soft thunk- slurping from her own plastic cup through a straw.

She climbed into a chair- being quite small for her age she could barely reach, and smiled at her guests. "So, what d'you wanna know 'bout the 'mares?"

The Doctor's manner changed- as it always did when he was with children, softening and becoming more gentle- genuinely hiding all his pain and agony behind a friendly smile. "Well- when do you see them?"

Kaitlyn bit her lip. "Promise you'll believe me? Won't laugh?"

Amy and the Doctor nodded, saying simultaneously. "Promise." Kaitlyn giggled and they glanced briefly at each other before turning back to the girl.

"'Kay- well, mostly I see them in my dreams. See- you can't really see them when you're awake- they're _there_- sometimes you can feel their warmth or hear 'em pounding their hoofs and stuff- but you can only see the Stallions when you're awake- and normally you only see Adonis." Kaitlyn gave a little shudder.

"The other stallions are really mean. You should stay away from them."

She took a big gulp of her milkshake, looking up at the Doctor- John Smith as she thought of him, and waited for the next question.

Amy got there first. "And- what do the 'mares look like? like Adonis?"

Kaitlyn cocked her head to the side, considering.

"Sort of. But prettier. I mean- Adonis is really handsome- all white coat and chocolate brown eyes- but the 'mares are all shimmery, y'know- sorta like opals I guess? Their eyes are the same though- really nice, gentle chocolate."

Kaitlyn smiled a little and the Doctor and Amy exchanged a look- this time one of concern. Clearly Kaitlyn hadn't seen Adonis for what he was.

The Doctor took a slurp of his Milo- wiping a milk moustache from his mouth as he had with custard all those years ago and leaned forward, resting his arms on the table.

"So- have the 'mares ever mentioned why they're with you- why Adonis protects you- anything like that?"

Kaitlyn frowned a little. "Not exactly. I mean- I know it's something to do with when I'm ten. That's tomorrow. And… well- them and Adonis are mad with the other stallions about something- but I dunno if it's the same thing."

The Doctor frowned, leaning back in his seat and considering the child. Amy frowned too.

"Can you not remember when you first started dreaming about the 'mares? Or have they all become more real recently- I mean, you seemed pretty upset at your school, like that sort of thing didn't happen every day…"

The scot felt her Doctor's eyes settle on her in admiration and a flush of pleasure rose up her neck, even as they waited for Kaitlyn's answer.

"Well- I can't exactly remember when I _first_ started dreaming of 'em, but I know that they started coming out for real three months ago."

The Doctor sat forwards looking stunned.

"Three months ago- exactly?"

Kaitlyn nodded, as bewildered by the Time Lord's reaction as Amy was. He glanced at the Australian girl. 'Sorry- what's the date?"

Kaitlyn frowned and looked to Amy for help- the redhead shrugged.

"Um- it's the 5th of May 1996."

Amy raised an eyebrow at the Time Lord- who wore a momentarily stricken expression. Whatever had affected the TARDIS had interfered with the time as well- just like last time.

The Doctor stood abruptly, setting his empty glass on the table and holding out his hand to Kaitlyn.

"Kaity- it was nice to meet you- and if you don't mind I'll be popping in tomorrow- but right now Amy and I have got to go somewhere."

Kaitlyn's face fell a little, but brightened at the prospect of seeing the pair again. "Kay then- don't forget to get me a card- it's my birthday!"

The Doctor tried to smile, but only made it halfway, nodding distractedly and grabbing Amy, dragging her out of the house. Amy- unsure exactly why- let him, and wished her heart would latch onto someone a little less fond of random sprints.

She took it back immediately though as they stumbled back into the desert town- to be with him, it was worth the running. Still, he didn't need to know that.

"What was that for? Some of us like to act sane from time to time y'know."

She punched the alien lightly on the arm- but his expression was incredulous, completely ignoring the insult.

"Three months Amy! Three months! Argh- I'm an idiot! Even in the Himalayas! I mean the TARDIS can't exactly miss Everest- that's not some random glitch!"

Amy frowned, following as he began to half walk, half jog up the sidewalk away from Kaitlyn's house.

"Hang on Doctor- is this to do with the thing messing with the TARDIS? But we weren't always knocked off course you know."

The Doctor threw his hands into the air. "Exactly- it was random! But three months ago, the Nightmairs and Stellions get worried, and start preparing her for her first decade- the perfect time for sacrifice. And three months ago in TARDIS time _was when it started._"

Amy's frown deepened as she followed after him- without much choice in the matter, as 80% of what he said went completely over her head. "Wait- 'Nightmairs'? 'Stellions'? Sacrifice?"

The Doctor nodded, running hand through his hair. "Yeah- they'd been grooming Kaitlyn to adopt her so they could get onto Earth- sort of like a human …visa… thing- they must have been barred from Earth- or maybe the solar system for some reason. They were planning on coming here from a _long_ way away- that's why the 'mares can't materialize- they _haven't arrived yet_. But three months ago something spooked them- they have to wait for Kaitlyn's first decade, and then they can cut the link- sacrifice her and run away. Sounds like that Adonis chap and the mares aren't happy about it- no doubt because they were her foster parents. That should be interesting."

Amy grabbed the Doctor's arm, forcing him to stop in the middle of the street, somewhat shellshocked. "They're going to _sacrifice_ Kaitlyn?"

The Doctor nodded- and Amy could almost see the thoughts buzzing behind his eyes.

"Well what are we going to do?"

The Doctor grinned at her.

"Stop them."

* * *

Right, hope you liked it, please please please review, I really appreciate it!

Thanks for reading!

Kat


	27. Nightmairs and Stellions

**AN: **Hello again! Not much to say here, except thanks as ever for your reviews!

This chap's quote:

_Love is fire. But whether it's gonna warm your heart or burn your house down you can never tell._

So, last chap we found out that some of the alien horse things want to sacrifice Kaitlyn by morning. This annoyed the other horse things, her 'foster parents' who'd been trying to use her to get back to Earth. Whilst Kaitlyn is unaware of the Nightmairs and Stellions' true appearances- Adonis (big cloud horse) seems good. Still, obvs the Doc and Amy are going to stop her being sacrificed, hopefully- and that's where we start!

ALSO: Just in case you get confused, 'Atiya' is the name the horses have given to Kaitlyn.

Enjoy!

* * *

Amy and the Doctor crouched behind a bush in Kaitlyn's back garden. Trying not to think about all the ways this could be taken out of context- Amy shifted a little, stretching a cramped leg. The Doctor remained motionless, his eyes fixed on the house- or more precisely, Kaity's bedroom window.

The Time Lord had decided that since this was the night before her sacrifice- there was likely to be some sort of showdown between the Nightmair's who wanted to keep the girl and the Stellions who wanted to kill her. At the least- they may be able to catch a glimpse of the Nightmair's and maybe talk to them- find out how to stop the sacrifice- and find out what the Stellions were so afraid of.

So, unable to say no- Amy had ended up sneaking into the girl's back garden and setting up behind an azalea bush- feeling remarkably like a severely misunderstood peeping tom- but a peeping tom nonetheless. Still, there was one good thing about this course of action- the stars.

This far out into the desert, the sky was almost completely clear- barely any light pollution, and the entire universe- millions of galaxies, red dwarfs and supernova's gleamed down with a brilliance Amy had only ever experienced off world. It was good to know that there were still some places on Earth where people could really see the stars- and she felt better getting lost in the sky's jeweled, glittering depths than staring into Kaity's room. Just because she'd never willingly leave the Time Lord didn't mean she had to act like him.

Abruptly, the Doctor's touch brought her out of her musings, and Amy felt a dull ache in her heart at how fleeting it was- of how much she missed him holding her, wanting to touch her. She mentally tried to shrug it off, and looked where he was pointing through a gap in the hedge.

In Kaity's room, next to her bed, a pale opalescent mare with burning eyes was standing next to Kaity's bed, her tail swishing from side to side- but otherwise utterly calm. After a few seconds the horse nuzzled the girl's cheek, and blinking she woke. When she saw the 'mare she smiled wildly, kissing the horse's muzzle.

The Doctor and Amy heard a muffled whinny, and then the Nightmair turned, nudging Kaity- motioning for her to look into the garden. As the Doctor and Amy watched, some two dozen nightmair's materialized on the lawn in front of them- all faintly shimmering, not quite there. At the head of the crowd- next to Kaitlyn's window, was Adonis.

Kaity's eyes went wide, and she pushed her window open- climbing out and nearly stumbling into the soil- catching herself on Adonis' neck. The mare which was in her room seemed to fade a little more, and then walked through the glass- like a ghost, before standing next to Kaity and Adonis.

The Doctor gasped a little and then turned to Amy, putting his fingers on either side of her forehead, muttering in a whisper. "They're communicating telepathically- here, I'll let you in."

He closed his eyes, and Amy felt something being unlocked in her mind. She turned to watch the herd as she heard a deep, aristocratic sounding male voice which must be Adonis.

"-need to take her away. Now!"

The mare next to Kaity stamped her foot, her voice was soft and gentle- much like her appearance, but there were fierce undercurrents too. "No Adonis! We cannot take her from her family."

Adonis brayed loudly, pawing the turf. "And if we don't take her away from her family then the others will take her life."

The mare dipped her head. "You know we will not let that happen."

Adonis whinnied at her, his ears flicking back in agitation. "Not whilst you're alive! You don't understand Belakane- they're mad with fear!"

A few of the other nightmair's shuffled nervously at his words, but none of them left.

Belakane was still- her voice was steady and calm as she replied. "I will lay down my life for our daughter. I will fight till my dying breath to protect her- regardless of what the stellions do or do not claim about the Time Ghosts."

Amy sensed the Doctor straighten a little next to her at this, but ignored him. Kaity looked like she was about to start crying as she patted Belakane's neck.

"N-No, Belakane. I don't want you to die! I don't want any of you to die!" her mental voice was younger, more girlish, and Amy felt a swell of pity rise in her for the hopeless child.

Belakane nuzzled her cheek, and several of the other nightmair's stepped forwards-whinnying comfortingly. "Shhh little Atiya. It is our choice."

Kaitlyn cried harder, throwing her arms around Belakane's neck. "Why do you have to choose? Why are the Stellions doing this?" She looked to Adonis beseechingly.

The Stellion bowed his head. "I am sorry little one. They are afraid- it has made them mad."

Kaitlyn blinked, sniffing and rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand as she stepped closer to Adonis, he lowered his head so she could rest her hand on his nose. " You're not..mad? Are you- Adonis? You don't want me and Belakane and the others to die?"

Adonis sounded heartbroken but determined when he replied. "No my girl, I'm not mad. I don't want you to die."

Kaitlyn cried a little more, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in his coat.

Adonis looked at Belakane, his voice was quiet- and Amy had a feeling they were hiding this conversation from Kaitlyn. "We have to take her- hide her somewhere."

Belakane dipped her head, pawing the turf and snorting a little. "We couldn't. I can't. It would break her heart."

Something in Adonis' posture seemed to break, and he bowed his head, nuzzling Kaitlyn's hair. "Then we are doomed."

It was now that the Doctor decided to make his presence known. Rolling her eyes, and ever so slightly afraid, Amy clambered out of the bushes after him.

The Time Lord grinned at the herd, which turned towards him simultaneously. In a flash Adonis was in front of him, stamping on the ground angrily.

"What are you doing here? How can you hear us? You are a mere man."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow and looked ridiculously disappointed. "Now Adonis- I'd heard such great things about the Stellions. You really think I'm human?"

Adonis snorted at the Doctor's patronizing tone, and Amy, standing just behind the man, really hoped he knew what he was doing, because Adonis was about five foot taller than she was and those great black hooves meant business.

The Doctor smiled complacently as Adonis calmed. Silently the Stellion stepped closer, his nostrils flaring as he scented the Doctor's jacket. The Doctor watched him- completely unperturbed, even as Adonis skipped back with a whinny- his tail whipping from side to side. The 'mares shied too as he half- said, half-cried.

"Time Lord!"

The Doctor gave a little bow. "Pleasure to meet you."

He held up his hands, trying to calm the herd, who all eyed him suspiciously. It didn't miss his or Amy's notice when Belakane and a group of the mares stood in a protective circle around Kaitlyn.

Adonis snorted. "What do you want?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Nothing. I just…want to help."

Adonis stamped his hooves again, leaving deep brown grooves in the lawn- and Amy wondered how Kaitlyn's parents couldn't have noticed.

"We do not need the help of a Time Lord."

Adonis almost spat the last words, disdainful and defensive. Amy wondered why- most other alien species she'd met that knew of Time Lord's had been respectful at least- and she could tell the Doctor was bewildered too.

The Doctor sighed. "Look- you want to save Kaitlyn, so do I."

Adonis fixed the Doctor with a burning glare. "What do you know of Atiya?"

The Doctor shoved a hand in his pockets, peering past the close packed bodies of the nightmair's and giving Kaitlyn a little wave. She returned it as Adonis and the others watched closely.

"I know she's a good kid, and your Stellions want to sacrifice her."

Adonis was motionless for a moment, considering, and then he dipped his head.

"What did you have in mind?"

The Doctor smiled.

X

Whenever Amy had briefly considered asking the Doctor to take her to Uluru, she'd never thought she'd be riding on the back of an interstellar horse otherwise known as a nightmair, feeling remarkably like bait. Then again, she was used to things not going exactly as she thought they would with the Doctor.

As they got closer, Amy shivered a little- half in trepidation, and half in genuine cold- the desert at night was practically freezing compared to the day, and her skimpy outfit wasn't helping. The Doctor riding bareback next to her, wordlessly handed over his jacket. Amy gave him a smile of thanks, but he'd already turned back to Uluru.

For the first time, the Scot gave the infamous natural phenomenon her full attention. It was astounding- inexplicable somehow- a rich plum in the evening light, with hints of midnight and crimson where light and shadow accentuated it's bulk. Dry, desolate and somehow mysterious- rising as a mountain amidst the dunes and skeletal trees- the ancient heart of Australia.

Amy couldn't help feeling awed by it, sitting silent beneath the stars, and at the same time she felt a rush of fear, clutching the Doctor's jacket closer and breathing in his scent for reassurance. There was a rumble of thunder- and then the black, boiling cloud that had appeared to deliver Adonis began to creep into the clear sky, blocking out the stars.

This one was huge, stretching from one end of the horizon to the other- or so it seemed, and boiled and rumbled restlessly, spitting fragments of nebulous black ash before swallowing it back. As Amy watched, eyes wide, the cloud spiraled into a tornado like column, spewing shapes into the surface of Uluru. She gulped.

The Doctor looked at her and winked. "So it begins."

* * *

Ooooooh, so what now? What's the Docs plan? What will the other Stellions be like? What's with the weird attitude towards time lords? (hint:lightning)

Please comment, question and critique, I love to hear your opinions!

Thanks for reading, hope you like it!

Kat


	28. Closure

**AN: **Thankyou again for the reviews, this chap's quote:

_Trouble is part of your life — if you don't share it, you don't give the person who loves you a chance to love you enough._

Ok, so last chap- the Stellions (except Adonis) want to sacrifice Kaitlyn so they can escape earth. The mares, having adopted her, are completely against it. They're all going to have a bit of a showdown on Uluru, and Amy and the Doc have offered to help- we don't know what their plan is yet, but we do know it makes Amy feel like bait...

Also- the time was interfered with and the Stellions are scared of Time Lords, this suggests that the lightning is a) super duper bad and b) possibly t do with Time lords- since not many of you seemed to pick up as a hint (feels like a fail at hinting).

Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

"Where is Atiya?" A black Stellion- huge in comparison with Adonis, demanded angrily. Adonis stood his ground before the Nightmair's, and the herd, now broken in two, face each other on the rolling surface of Uluru.

"We will not let you kill her Ildiko."

The rest of the stellions- nearly fifty behind Ildiko, brayed and reared in outrage- stamping their feet and grinding dust from the rock.

"We've been through this Adonis. We _must_ leave this place- this universe is no longer safe!"

It was Adonis' turn to bray in outrage. "And ours _is_? You're fear has made you insane Ildiko- all universe's will be destroyed if what you fear comes to pass- her death would be wasted blood."

Ildiko turned away. "You have no idea of the things you speak of Adonis."

Adonis stamped his hooves in anger. "We all die father. But that does not mean one of the last acts of this herd must be murder- of one of our own no less!"

Ildiko whirled on his son. "One of our own! Listen to you- you say I'm mad! She is _human_ and _not_ one of us."

Adonis looked as if he was about to respond when he was interrupted by a young, scared voice.

"I'll do it."

Trembling slightly, Kaitlyn walked through the herd. Reluctantly, the 'mares moved to let her pass.

Pale and slight, Kaitlyn stepped before Ildiko. "If- if it saves you, then… you can k-kill me."

For a moment the Stellions stood stunned, whilst the Nightmair's shuffled nervously, the Doctor and Amy concealed in their midst. When Ildiko bowed his head, his voice was somewhat humbled.

"Very well young Atiya. Your courage will not be forgotten."

Adonis snorted, trying to step in front of Kaitlyn, and stop her being led away by Ildiko. Oblivious of the tears streaming down her cheeks, Kaitlyn put a hand on Adonis' neck.

"It's ok. I know you want to protect me 'cos you love me. But I love you too."

Adonis fell silent, bowing his head and nuzzling her cheek before quietly murmuring, "Oh Atiya, my girl."

Kaitlyn kissed his nose, and then followed Ildiko to the highest point of Uluru.

Ildiko was calm but commanding as he nodded to the slightly upraised point on the rock. "Lie down, and close your eyes."

Still trembling a little, Kaitlyn did as she was told. Ildiko brayed a command to the Stellions and they crowded around the girl. Reluctantly, Adonis and the 'mares did likewise.

The thundercloud- which had not dissipated as it had once Adonis arrived, boiled overhead, and silver lightning began to crackle through it's depths. Ildiko reared, about to bring his massive hooves down on Kaitlyn's fragile ribcage.

There was a resounding clap of thunder- Ildiko's hooves began to fall- and then, quick as whip, Adonis, Belakane and four other mares bolted from the rock, galloping into nothing.

Ildiko let out a cry, faltering, and Kaitlyn rolled from the rock, clambering down the side as fast as she could- half running, half sliding in the direction of Adonis and the 'mares.

Above them, the silver lightning and the thunder clashed in a deafening screech like grinding metal, and the Doctor leapt forwards, whipping out his screwdriver as he directed it at the clouds.

Ildiko fell to the Earth with a crash- coal lump eyes burning red hot. "TIME LORD!" He roared. The Doctor waved and Amy, screaming, ran forwards-into the stellion's path.

Distracted by the girl, Ildiko didn't notice the Doctor take the advantage of Amy's distraction and turn on the sonic. Above him, the cloud began to twist, like some sort of whirlpool. Screaming, the Stellions were sucked back into it, and Am threw herself to the ground, clinging to the rock as an immense wind howled out of nowhere, trying to claw her from the desert.

The Doctor stood his ground, watching at the herd was pulled back into the sky, and then, finally, he lowered the sonic screwdriver. In a second, the clouds vanished- leaving nothing but the calm, starry night. Everything was still, and the Doctor and Amy were alone in nowhere.

X

"You'll take care of her, won't you?"

"Is that a trick question?" Adonis whinnied at the Doctor in reply- standing protectively next to Kaitlyn. The Doctor smiled.

"Good to hear it."

Adonis nodded to Amy. "Thankyou, too- for helping us save our Atiya."

Amy shrugged. "Yeah- whatever, run in the way of a ragin' Stellion- it's just part of the job description." She nudged the Doctor playfully and he grinned a little.

"Do you have to go?" Kaitlyn asked miserably. The Doctor nodded.

"I'm sorry, but you've got Adonis and the mares, and trust me- they're not going anywhere for a very long time. The links broken now- that's why the others went back. This lot are here to stay. You don't need me and Pond."

Kaitlyn nodded, absently resting her tiny palm on Adonis and Belakane's sides. She kicked a few circles in the dust. "Doesn't mean I won't miss you."

Amy crouched down, putting her hands gently on the girl's shoulders. The child looked up into the woman's face.

"Hey- it's ok. You'll grow up and you'll find out there's this big, beautiful, _amazing_ world out there, with thousands of fantastic people, just waiting for you to meet them. You'll be fine, and having Adonis and the 'mares- that'll just mean you'll be able to see the world even better than everyone else. It makes you _special_ in a good way- no matter what kids might tell you."

Kaitlyn frowned, kicking more dust. "How do you _know_?"

Amy grinned, raising an eyebrow, and nodded to the Doctor. "I had him." She winked at the girl and pulled her into a hug.

"Take care. Be incredible."

Kaitlyn nodded against Amy's shoulder and the Scottish woman gave her a smile as she stood. The Doctor glanced to the East where the sun was rising, and together they watched it spill light over the desert plains.

The Doctor jumped a little, searching in his pocket and pulling something out. "Oh- and happy tenth birthday Kaitlyn!"

He handed over a tiny wooden box. Curious, Kaitlyn opened it. Inside was a tiny necklace with a silver horse charm hung on it. As she watched, the horse moved, dipping it's head and trotting in liquid silver motion. Her face cracking a smile, Kaitlyn beamed up at the Doctor.

"Thankyou!"

Amy and the Doctor smiled as they turned to walk away, waving to the group. The Doctor nudged his companion in the ribs, and she called back.

"Don't mention it! Happy birthday!"

When the Doctor and Amy got back to Yulara, it was getting near 6 in the evening, and wasn't long before they could return to the TARDIS. They sat in a restaurant in their motel (Amy still wasn't sure how the Doctor had got them in) and finished off it's specialty home made icecream.

Noticing Amy had some of her strawberry icecream smudged over her lip the Doctor chuckled, gesturing. "You've got something..there."

Amy raised her eyebrows, sticking out her tongue to get it. She went to the wrong side, and as she moved, the Doctor suddenly leaned forwards, licking off the smudge and kissing her lips. Closing her eyes, Amy instinctively responded, one of her hands going around his neck.

They were interrupted by a particularly obnoxious fake cough from one of the staff, and grinning, the Doctor led a bewildered Amy onto the veranda. She couldn't help leaning her head back to look at the stars as they stepped into the desert night.

"it's beautiful here, isn't it?" The Doctor murmured.

Amy looked at him. "The sky is- the stars…" She smiled, and he smiled back, soft and loving.

Amy frowned a little. "So does this mean we're ok now- I mean, you…"

The Doctor stepped forwards, placing a finger on her lips, his eyes laughing as he put a hand on her shoulder. "Amy Pond. You've changed me so much. Sometimes I barely know myself."

Amy frowned and tried to mumble against his finger to ask if that was a good thing.

The Doctor shook his head. "Shhh."

He removed his finger from her lips, putting his other hand on her waist as he stepped closer. She could feel his warmth, and remembered she was still wearing his jacket. She watched him with baited breath.

The corner of the Doctor's mouth lifted up as he looked at her- really looked at her, like she was a puzzle he couldn't understand but was happy to work on forever. He rested his forehead against hers, touching her nose with his as he looked into her eyes.

"I realized, with Kaitlyn and the Stellions. They were letting their lives be paved by dreams and fears- suffering for it, when there was no reason. And suddenly, I thought- if I found it so ridiculous for them to be controlled by suggestion and illusion, why was I bowing to it myself?"

He stepped closer, and Amy leaned back against the wooden wall of the motel, barely able to hold the intensity of his gaze.

"I realized- I was afraid of an idea, and it was stopping me from understanding that what I dreamed about was right before my eyes- now, in reality. All I can ever dream of is you- and I'm not ready to wake up and miss my chance."

With that, he leaned forward, capturing her lips in his, hungrily stealing a kiss. Amy responded willingly, pulling him closer, and they lost themselves in each other.

That night, Amy dragged the Doctor into their room- onto their queen sized bed- and both of them relished the chance to live their dream, if only for one night on Earth- beneath the countless stars.

* * *

Aaah, so all better in time. He'll tell her the rest in due course, but for now he simply wants to live in the moment with her, and I don't think Amy would hold that against him.

In case no one got what I was trying to make subtle- that night they slept together,as in, made love. There won't be a lemon next chap- this isn't that sort of story, hopefully you won't mind.

So, now to deal with the weird time lightning? Anyone got any theories?

Please do comment, criticise and question- I really appreciate it, and now I have a free evening, will try to reply to everyone,

Thanks for reading!

Kat


	29. Going on random

**AN: **Hello- so, glad you all liked the Amy and the Doc finally getting back together, and doing the deed as it were- I wasn't overcome by fangirl love, it's relevant to the plot (honest). If anyone is surprised it's fast, look at the way the Doctor reacts about everything- what will be slow will be the time it takes for him to tell Amy why he was so distant.

Well done to JasperWhitlockHale'sman and LilyHale21 who both got the quote right- it was by Dinah Shore! One point to Jasper, and Lily, 3! You win a prize- I'll pm you the details!

This chap's quote:

_To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides._

Ok, so all settle with Kaity, the nightmairs and stellions. This time, they've still got the weird lightning in the Time vortex to deal with, and of course, their relationship now they've slept together...Then again, it is these two, and I hope you think the way I've written their reaction is justified.

Enjoy!

* * *

"I'm putting her on random." The Doctor announced- half laughing as he skipped up the stairs onto the console platform.

Amy grinned, following. "Random? I didn't even know you could."

The Doctor nodded, flicking switches and twisting dials with an excited vigour. "No. Well- I mean yes, I didn't tell you. Sorry- I fibbed._"_

He looked at Amy, eyes twinkling, and she went to punch his chest, he stopped her and she spun, bringing herself closer and tilting up so her lips were skinning his, a flush rising onto her cheeks. He caught his breath and bent to meet her and she skipped away- laughing out loud.

"Now you're sorry."

The Doctor grimaced and shrugged. "Well- there was a reason!"

Amy cocked an eyebrow, "really?"

The Time Lord stepped around the platform, eyes still gleaming as held out his arms. "Would I lie to you?"

Amy frowned. "You already have."

In one swift step the Doctor crossed the distance between them, pinning her against the railings and leaning in even as she arched back. His eyes searched her face and he smiled, kissing her nose. "Never again."

The TARDIS moaned a little and the Doctor leapt away, going back to the controls. Amy, somewhat giddy on all this attention, paused to catch her breath. As her eyes refocused they fixed again on the jagged line in the TARDIS wall where the lightning had struck.

It was like the metal there had been welded together again- and the result was a lumpy line, like a scar. She frowned, and concentrated on the Doctor again.

"So why are we going on random?"

The Doctor raised an eyebrow, looking at her through the central column. "Don't you want to know why we don't normally?"

Amy couldn't deny the spark of interest his question breathed life into, and nodded, putting a hand on her hip and hanging off the railing. "Go on."

The Doctor smiled, and then in a sudden burst of movement threw his hands into the air as he skipped round the controls and the TARDIS began to rumble, whirr, buzz and hum as she prepared for takeoff.

"I can't control it! We would _willingly_ put ourselves into one of the most powerful ships in the universe with no way to control her- with no idea when or where we're going. It's dangerous- insane-"

"Exciting!" Amy interrupted, eyes shining. The Doctor looked at her, unable to help the grin tugging at the corners of his mouth when he looked at her- radiant in anticipation and contentment.

"Well, yes, that too- and I couldn't resist- but there were some bad experiences, and I decided maybe it was best I only let it tempt one of us."

Amy pouted a little, looking down and letting her eyelashes brush against her cheeks, gently shaking a little scarlet hair to frame her face before she looked up at him demurely, eyes half hidden beneath her lashes.

"And you're never ..tempted?"

The Doctor stepped closer, tucking her hair behind her ear and wrapping an arm around her waist, laughing into her eyes. "You know the answer to that." His voice was husky and Amy lifted her face, wanting to capture his lips- taste him again, discover him.

He smiled and pulled back a touch, though he didn't let her go.

"As to your other question- we're doing this to hopefully find the source of whatever's been knocking the TARDIS off course. Hopefully, if she's got no direction, she'll be attracted to whatever has been warping the Time Vortex."

Amy raised her eyebrows at him, putting one arm behind her to hold onto the rail.

"So, definitely dangerous then?"

The Doctor nodded, abruptly serious. "Are you ready?"

Amy cocked an eyebrow, leaning up and pecking him on the lips, hesitating for just a second to whisper in his ear.

"Are you?"

X

The TARDIS crashed to a halt and the Doctor and Amy fell into each other, instinctively protecting the other from the impact, breathing fast.

Silence fell over the ship- even the central column was somehow- frozen. Looking around, the Doctor frowned slightly. Everything was frozen- every control, even the console- a white and grey blur. He looked at Amy, but she seemed animated enough, if speechless for the moment, intimidated by the sudden quiet.

Getting to his feet, the Doctor held out a hand to Amy and she got to her feet. Speaking in a whisper, Amy said urgently, "Doctor- the TARDIS..."

The Doctor nodded, still holding her hand- looking round at his ship. "I know.." He murmured, bewildered.

Their gazes met, and together, quiet, they made their way to the door, feeling the hairs on the back of their necks rise at the eerie silence. The Doctor rested a hand on the cold metal of the door handle, curling his fingers around it as Amy glanced back into the TARDIS.

She felt a rush of cold air, and looked back out with the Doctor. They were on some kind of meteorite- or an asteroid, a grey, rocky, dusty expanse- completely lifeless, suspended in the stars.

Not particularly far away, a waterfall of colour, light and stardust sustained perpetual motion, and on the surface of the rock, a long, sixty foot high marble wall dominated the otherwise featureless expanse. The Doctor and Amy stood exactly five hundred metres before the six foot black metal doors, framed by white marble columns supporting an outcrop on which stood some kind of abandoned sentry tower.

Wordless, the Doctor and Amy stepped onto the dust, hesitantly taking a deep breath. The Doctor breathed a sigh of relief as he tasted an atmosphere suitable for himself and a human. Amy tugged on his sleeve and pointed to the stellar waterfall.

"Doctor- what _is_ that?" She was still whispering, and the Doctor couldn't blame her, this desolate place seemed at once immense and fragile- as if a raised voice would shatter it's bizarre tranquility.

He glanced where she pointed, already with some idea of what it was she was fixated on. "The medusa cascade…" He swallowed drily. It couldn't be a coincidence that something so close to an old rift was interfering with the vortex.

Something was very, very wrong- he could feel it, like something jarring at the back of his mind.

Amy stared at the cascade and then back at the wall- almost unconsciously the two had come within a few feet of the immense doors. They stood flanked by the marble columns, and the Doctor stared up above the door- where a fresh, neat inscription lay.

"_To see a world in a grain of sand_

_And a heaven in a wild flower_

_Hold infinity in the palm of your hand_

_And eternity in an hour."_

Looking at Amy, he stepped closer to the doors, and together they took the large metal handles, pulling the doors open. Then they simply stood and stared.

* * *

Ooooh, what have they found? What next? What's wrong with the TARDIS? Can it be fixed? Why is this place next to the medusa cascade? Are there people in the city?

Please do ask, guess, question and comment- I really appreciate it.

The poem/inscription is called 'To see a world in a grain of sand' and was written by William Blake, not me. It is brilliant though, and fit perfectly.

Thanks for reading,

Kat


	30. Omega

**AN:** Hey! Thanks as ever for all your support, so glad you're enjoying the story!

Also, well done to JasperWhitlockHale'sMan- it was David Viscott, and I think that puts you on two points?

This chap's quote:

_In order to create there must be a dynamic force, and what force is more potent than love?_

OK, so last chap the Doc and Amy set the TARDIS on random and crashed onto a barren moon beneath the medusa cascade- on it there is a huge marble city, outside of whose walls the pair now stand.

When the TARDIS crashed, it froze, and we also know somewhere in this place is whatever's been interfering with the Time vortex...

So of course, they go through the doors, and into the city...

Enjoy!

* * *

Before them, an entire marble city sprawled majestically as far as the eyes could see. Magnificent domes and spires topped imposing temples, villas, halls and shops. The road was clean- barely worn down, and stretching out as wide a river before forking down several other streets.

A woman walked out of a shop a few feet in front of them in period dress, holding a cotton bag from which a feathered hat peeked out. She made her way to the crossroads- and then sort of froze. She vanished, and Amy frowned- looking to see where she'd gone.

A door creaked, and Amy looked back at the shop where the woman had come from. There she was again, with her bag and hat. She made her stately way to the crossroads- vanished and reappeared at the shop front.

Amy swallowed, eyes now flashing everywhere- seeing a man walk into a woman with a pile of papers- saw him crouch to help her and walk on, before it happened all over again. "Doctor…"

The Doctor nodded, taking her hand. His own was clammy and cold- Amy's eyes flashed to his face, fixed with that expression of fascinated perplexity that managed to entice and terrify her at once. She squeezed his fingers and he gave her a slight smile.

"Come on."

They began to walk through the city- following random winding streets- noticing people, all in the same sort of period dress, repeating the same action over and over. As they got closer to the city centre- repeating patterns began to appear on the building's otherwise featureless marble walls.

Amy frowned at one of them- like so many circles inside of the other, incredibly similar to the TARDIS display. She let go of the Doctor's hand to investigate before calling him over. A few metres behind her a little boy ran and stumbled on the pavement- his laughter turning to a cry as he hit the stone with a soft thud. Then he rewound to where he was before, running up the street again. Amy winced before he hit the ground, but then refocused her attention on the engraving in the wall.

She felt the Doctor come to stand behind her- his warm breath raising goosebumps on her neck as he reached past her shoulder to tentatively brush the pattern.

He swallowed. "Ok. So that's not good."

He turned, taking Amy's hand and walking away a little faster than before.

It wasn't long before they reached the city centre. A huge town hall- Parthenon-esque, dominated what Amy would call a town square if it wasn't round. Similar circular patterns spread across the stone in enormous relief, and at the centre, a huge clockface was set in the stone. Ignoring the various townspeople moving, then reversing, then moving again, the Doctor ran to the clockface.

It was- to Amy, a sort of hybrid, various clocks mixed together in a bubbling, concentric pattern, with far too many strange symbols in place of the standard twelve numbers. Six ornate dials- made of pure gold, moved in varying directions, ticking away with a faint snick. After about two minutes, there was a whirr in the mechanism and they all reversed to where they'd been.

The Doctor crouched, fingers tracing the surface of the crystalline substance that masked the clocks whilst he muttered nonsense to himself. Amy frowned- looking from the mechanisms to the Time Lord and back. Suddenly, something caught the Doctor's eye, and he ran across the clock face- which was a good three or four metres wide.

He moved to a medium sized clock inlaid in the larger one and stared fixedly at a certain point on it's face. After a few seconds, Amy joined him- beginning to feel severely creeped out by the half sleeping people- repeating the same action over and over, apparently unaware of their presence.

She stood next to him and looked where he was as he ran a hand through his hair in agitation.

"Doctor- what is it?"

The Doctor glanced at her in disbelief, then back at the clock face, pointing. "Don't you see?"

Amy bent and looked where he pointed- most of the numbers were worn, as if the hands had passed them a thousand times over. Judging from the way this place's somnolent people repeated themselves, she wouldn't be surprised. But three figures stood fresh and stark against the marble, neatly outlined in black ink.

As she watched, an intricate gold hand ticked round to the number before the first fresh one- then ticked over onto it.

Amy glanced around- everybody had moved a little further than they had before. There was a grinding crunch as the dial froze, and then it whirred back round to the start.

The scot glared at the Doctor- goosebumps lifting on her arm. "Ok, what does that mean?"

For a moment the Time Lord didn't answer, his jaw working. Finally, he glanced up at the enormous temple/town hall and replied. "It means the Time Loop is deteriorating. Probably because we landed on the planet- we've snapped the loop." He glanced at the people all around the square. "They all look like they can't see us, but they can, and they're waking up."

Amy thought about all the people trapped in the same continuous loop they'd seen on the way here- the hundreds more there must be trapped in the same repetitive monotony. "Isn't that a good thing?"

Shaking his head the Doctor stood- brushing imaginary dust from his trousers, though Amy hadn't seen a spec in the city's immaculate expanse.

"No."

His voice fell flat and she gave him a curious look, grabbing his arm and then following his gaze up to the roof of the town hall, where an enormous symbol loomed above the rest.

"Why? Surely it's good that they're not trapped any more."

The Doctor shook his head, walking away from the clock to the hall whilst Amy jogged a little to keep up.

"No- Amy, putting a place on this scale in a time loop would take immense effort and forethought, as well as power. It was done for a _reason_."

Still struggling to follow his chain of thought- and feeling a lot like she was missing some vital connection, Amy demanded. "What reason? What's so terrible about this place?"

The Doctor heaved a shaky sigh. They stood at the bottom of the steps up to the town hall, dwarfed by the marble columns- which were easily as high as the wall encircling the city.

"This is Omega."

* * *

Oooh- extra points if anyone figures out what Omega means and why I've used it to name this place!

So who are these people? What are these people? Why is the planet in a Time Loop? And what happens if it breaks?

Please do review, comment, criticise, question- I really do appreciate it, and am hoping this fic will get more reviews than the 'L' word, since it seems to have been better received.

Anyway, thanks for reading, hope you liked it,

Kat


	31. Level 1

**AN: **Hello- wow, it's nice, flattering and humbling to learn that my readers are not only far more wise than I, but also still deign to read this story! I mean Omega as in last letter of the greek alphabet- and in Christian tradition, 'the beginning and the end', as in- a sense of doom, finality. I'm afraid I didn't see classic Who, or at least, not much, and wasn't referencing that- sorry to disappoint.

Ok, well done to:Katy-Alice-Cullen, 1 point; missprofessorwho, 1 point; NinjaGirlRebecca, 1 point; and LilyHale21, one point. Please do correct me if I'm wrong, I'm trying to keep on top of this- all of you were right, it was Igor Stravinsky.

This chap's quote:

_Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart. And try to love the questions themselves._

Last chap- turns out the place interfering with time is a desolate moon on which stands a white marble city- whose citizens are stuck in a time loop which is now deteriorating as a result of the Doc and Amy's presence. This place is called Omega- and according to the Doctor, that and the fact the Time Loop is deteriorating is a very bad thing. We don't know why yet...

Enjoy!

* * *

"What's _Omega_? And what's so terrible about it?"

The Doctor was running now and Amy had to shout for him to hear as they sped through a forest of columns in the town hall's interior. Shadows slid up the white structures, and a slight chill eased into the building's gut.

"Omega's _existence_ is the problem." The Doctor shouted back, taking a sudden left as he saw something.

Breathless, Amy caught up with him at last- he'd stopped at an intricate panel in the wall, covered with writing Amy couldn't read.

"Isn't that- a little- biased?" She asked between breaths.

Chuckling drily, the Time Lord pointed his screwdriver at the marble- the panel slid up, revealing a complicated looking interface. Amy blinked- the classical theme of the city had served effectively to erase any thought of it possessing some sort of advanced technology. Which was probably the point.

"For once, I can say for certain it is not- considering it was my race who created it- not that they know that." He jerked his head to outside where the people still went through the same repeating actions.

Amy frowned, more confused than before, whilst the Doctor narrowed his eyes at the streams of data and options spewing onto the screen.

"Ok- lets try this." He pointed his screwdriver at the panel again, twisting something on it twice clockwise and once anti clockwise.

Suddenly, a pencil width column of marble slipped out of the wall. On the end, a blue pad- the size of a fingerprint, glowed dimly. Amy felt the TARDIS sluggishly working against the Time Loop and translate at last in her mind. The words blurred into focus and Amy raised her eyebrows.

_TIME LORD IDENTIFICATION REQUIRED._

The Doctor stuck his index finger on the pad and flinched, drawing his hand back as something metal shot out and neatly cut through his skin. Sucking his finger he watched the display as the column slid back inside. There were a few seconds of silence, and then the screen flashed and changed. Again, Amy felt the TARDIS translating for her- like an ancient computer on it's last legs.

_TIME LORD IDENTITY- CONFIRMED._

The screen flipped- literally swiveling inside the wall. A new interface came up- and even to Amy's inexperienced eyes it looked far more advance than the other, which had clearly been some sort of dummy.

Frowning and tapping commands faster than Amy's eyes could follow, the Doctor concentrated on the new display. There was a series of beeps and a red warning message came up. The Doctor paused in his tapping to read it.

'_**WARNING: LEVEL THREE INTERFERENCE PREDICTED. COUNTERMAND?'**_

Long before Amy had even finished reading the message the Doctor had let out a little gasp of agitation, punching the confirm button. There was a flash of blue light, a feeling of spinning and then the Doctor and Amy arrived in a completely different part of the city.

Blinking, they looked around. Nearby, a young girl and boy played catch- they had to be siblings from their near identical features, and couldn't be more than six years old. There were barely any buildings around, and behind the Doctor and Amy a two metre wire fence was hastily constructed around a football field sized area, covered in weird raised symbols and mechanisms.

"What- why are we here?"

The Doctor scanned the area with his screwdriver, looking around quickly whilst the girl and boy kept playing catch.

"Level 3 interference. It means three things happen which cause the security protocol to kick in and Omega to set itself off. This is the predicted site of the first level. And I'm _guessing_ it has something to do with that." He pointed emphatically at the bizarre field.

Pausing to gain her bearing Amy ran to him, grabbing his shoulder.

"Set itself off? Omega's a _bomb_?"

The Doctor nodded distractedly, eyes frantically searching for anomalies. "Yes."

Spluttering, Amy took this in. "How big? Where? What kind of bomb?"

He laughed a little in the face of the growing tension. "Ooooh. _Very_ big. It's the planet. Well, I'd say this is more of a moon really."

Amy's jaw dropped. "This whole place is a bomb?"

"No." The Doctor frowned, cocking an eyebrow at her in surprise. "Not the city and the people- they came later."

His companion blinked. "They built their city on a _bomb_."

Shrugging, he replied distractedly. "Not knowingly. Come on- where is it?"

Behind them, unnoticed, the boy and girl were getting to the end of their game of catch- the end of their loop. The girl was the closest to the fence, and laughing the boy threw the ball up as high as he could. It arched over the fence and the girl gave a little cry.

The Doctor and Amy turned in synchronization- watching the light ball bounce onto one of the podium like structures. They watched as the little girl ran towards an area in the fence which was beginning to rust and had curled up a little. Even as they ran towards her they saw her struggling underneath- the Doctor gave a shout- she didn't hear…

Then she went straight back to where she'd come from. The Doctor and Amy hurled into the fence- staring disbelievingly at the children. Once she'd got her breath back, Amy heaved a sigh of relief.

"That was close."

The Doctor nodded. "We have to stop it."

Sick of being confused, Amy scowled. "Why? She doesn't get there."

Rolling his eyes, the Doctor spoke as if to a child in his frustration. "The Time Loop is _deteriorating_ because of us. That means they're breaking out of it- and the next thing she does is get under the fence. It's _predicted_ interference- and it's going to happen unless we stop it in," he paused- tapping his watch. " one hundred and sixteen seconds."

"Why a hundred and sixteen?"

Crouching to examine the fence, the Doctor grimaced at the rusting metal- out of place in the marble landscape, looking back over his shoulder at the children.

"Galiffreyan clock. Betade level. One hundred and twenty seconds makes a 'minute'. One hundred and sixteen is the time loop. I'd estimate that as it gets to each new number it'll take three cycles. Which gives us roughly eighteen minutes before this place goes boom, and…one hundred and three seconds until level one interference comes in unless we stop it. Now would you help me?"

His finished on a note mixed with frustration and desperation. Worried Amy crouched next to him, resting her hand reassuringly on his for a moment before examining the fence. "Of course."

The Doctor smiled a little, leaving his hand under hers for a moment longer before glancing back at the children.

"Ok, we can't dig the wire back in- there's no time, and besides, it's this damn marble, so we have to stop her."

"So why not just stop her before she gets here?" Amy asked, curious.

He shook his head vigorously. "No- that would just accelerate the Time loop's deterioration, which we really don't need right now."

Amy nodded, swallowing and glancing back at the children herself. The girl caught the ball and threw it back to her brother.

"Ok, so we stop her after the end of the Time Loop- wait on the other side of the fence and stop her coming in."

"That sort of defeats the point."

Shrugging, the Sot justified her suggestion. "No- maybe she bumps into something by accident- after all, they're just weird shapes to her. If one of us went through, we'd know not to touch anything."

The Doctor paused for a moment, thinking, before he nodded and lifted the loop as far as he could making to go beneath.

A hand grabbed his shoulder as he tried to squeeze through. "I'll do it. It's weird, but I kinda like that jacket."

Chuckling, the Doctor slipped back out with a sigh of relief as Amy wriggled under. He glanced back- the boy was throwing the ball in the air.

Amy got through, standing, and caught sight of the girl running over. She glanced up to see the ball in the air and got ready to stop the child- incredibly aware of the podium sitting silent and enigmatic next to her right foot.

The girl got closer and Amy crouched whilst the Doctor watched tensely. Gently Amy rested her hands on the girl's shoulders, stopping her before she got through the fence. The girl pushed and Amy pushed back, and the child looked up, saw her and gave a little cry of surprise.

Then she vanished back to where she'd come from. Amy had time for a little sigh of relief before physics kicked in, and without the girl's opposing force, she fell forwards. Her hands went out to catch herself and her foot kicked out, touching the podium. The Doctor gave a shout, and a bolt of heat shot through the sole of Amy's shoe.

She cried out and scrambled away, out of the field. The Doctor helped her to her feet, though she could barely put her weight on her right, and they watched- helpless, as the podium spun- generating an angry red force field which covered the rest of the structures.

A round panel in the ground slid up and displayed a small interface.

_**INTERFERENCE LEVEL 1: ACTIVE.**_

Amy's eyebrows pulled up and she looked to the Doctor. "I'm _sorry._"

The Doctor shook his head, wrapping his arms around her. "It's alright. It's not your fault." Blue light enveloped them, taking them to the next site.

They both knew, this time, they had to stop it. And the minutes were ticking away…

* * *

Oooh- yes, the gallifreyan clocks were all made up by me- but I know this systems, sorry, as I said, I didn't catch much Classic Who. Hope you like it anyway!

Sooo- what now? What's the next level of interference? If the bomb is the size of a moon, how much damage can it do? If it's gallifreyan- why isn't it in the Time Lock? because of the rift? What does the Doctor know that he's not telling Amy- if he kept this idea secret?

As ever, please do comment, criticise and question- I welcome all feedback,

Thankyou for reading!

Kat


	32. The thief and a zipline

**AN: **hey- I'm really glad you all enjoyed the story and have reviewed it so much!

Katy-Alice-Cullen- 2 points, MaryandMerlin- 2 points, missprofessorwho- 2 points and FallenSyren- 3 and a half! I'll pm you with your rpize ASAP- all of you got the quote right, it was by one of my favourite poets- Rainer Maria Rilke.

This chap's quote:

_There are no guarantees. From the viewpoint of fear, none are strong enough. From the viewpoint of love, none are necessary._

Ok, last chap the Doc and Amy found out Omega is a time lord bomb (well Amy did, the Doc already knew) the Time Loop is stopping 'predicted interference' on three levels, but the arrival of these two is breaking the loop, and once three levels are triggered, the bomb detonates. The Doc and Amy just tried and failed to prevent level 1, and have now been teleported to where level 2 happens- knowing they have sixteen minutes to stop it or the whole place, and the city, go boom! And we still don't know how much will be destroyed if it does...

They have six minutes- three cycles roughly, before the time loop deteriorates enough for whatever is going to happen to happen.

So no pressure, right?

Enjoy!

* * *

When the light faded, the Doctor and Amy found themselves at the top of one of the sentry towers. Worried- both began searching for the next site of interference.

"Where do you think it'll be?" Amy asked urgently, scanning the streets of the city below and the dusty, barren grey expanse outside the wall.

Apparently on a whim, the Doctor pointed his screwdriver at the dust outside. He flicked the display open and grimaced as he slipped the screwdriver back in his pocket.

"Not sure, but I'm _guessing_ it's something to do with the mines."

Amy threw her hands into the air. "There's _ mines_ now?"

The Doctor nodded, looking troubled. "What would appear to be a poorly conceived attempt to protect the city. The only way in is through the front door. Of course- if someone set off those mines, they'd also put a crater in the _bomb_ that is this lump of rock..." He trailed off in frustration, seemingly at a loss.

From their vantage point, it was clear they couldn't get down and disable the mines in the next six minutes. Which meant they had to stop whatever was going to happen, and pray it wasn't someone trying to break into the city over the minefield.

Feeling her stomach clench, Amy scanned the horizon anyway. All she could see was rock and dust. She wondered if some kind of asteroid would come down- but she doubted it. To try and release some of the anxiety building up as her fear of the unknown grew, she changed the subject.

"Pretty reclusive then, aren't they?"

The Doctor laughed drily, hands resting on a marble dip in the sentry towers wall. "You could say that."

Amy came to join him- two pairs of eyes were better than one, though she suspected if either of them spotted anything, it would be him.

"I've been meaning to ask- what _species_ are they? I mean- they look like humans from another century, but then, so do you…"

The Doctor turned to her, pretending to look hurt. "What- that's a bad thing?"

Amy shrugged, biting her lip. "The really weird thing is that I kind of like it."

The Doctor grinned, stepping closer and putting his hands on her waist, touching her nose with his. "Only kind of?"

Amy giggled breathlessly, tilting her lips to his. "A lot."

The Doctor smiled against the kiss, pulling away to look back over the city. "Good." He waited for her to join him before he continued. "No one knows- they could be Time Lord or human, but no one knows which. The race that was lost, or the race that was saved…"

Amy caught the suggestion behind his words. "You already knew about this- about this place?"

She'd guessed as much, but she wanted to hear him say it- and finally provide her with some of the answers she wanted.

Letting out a long, heavy sigh, the Doctor nodded. "Yes."

There was a shout from below them, and what he'd been about to say fell off his tongue as he ran to the side of the parapet where the shout had come from. Frustrated, Amy followed.

About ten metres below them, a narrow walkway curved against the wall. A neatly dressed guard- who looked much like a nineteenth century policeman- was chasing a man dressed in black carrying a bulging bag of something. Amy had a feeling whatever it was, it was a stolen something.

He raised his arm, shooting at the sentry tower with some kind of crossbow. The Doctor shoved Amy to the ground but the arrow hit the marble, falling back down. The thief shouted something in frustration, and the rope attached to the arrow slipped down, tangling with his feet. He slipped and began to fall over the wall's edge, his momentum lending him the force he needed to clear the few feet it stood above the walkway.

Amy cried out, and the Doctor watched aghast as they both waited for him to land on the minefield outside.

There was silence, and the guard reappeared back in his position by the other sentry tower. The Doctor raised an eyebrow at his companion, and holding each other's hands tightly, they peered over the wall.

The thief was nowhere to be seen. The Doctor and Amy exchanged a look.

"How do we stop him falling?" Amy demanded, urgently.

The Doctor was casting about for something, and ran inside the small hut like structure forming the top of the tower which supported the parapet they stood on. There were a series of bangs and crashes inside, and he called back to her.

"I'm working on it. See him yet?"

Amy glanced back over her shoulder at the walkway on the wall, the next sentry tower along, and the street below- no sign of a thief in black.

"No." She shouted.

"Oh good." The Scot jumped as the Doctor appeared next to her shoulder, looking past her to check for the thief himself whilst he hefted a wooden crossbow like contraption, a particularly heavy duty looking sort of arrow, and a rope.

He crouched on the flooor- sorting them out and revealing another, far more simple bow made of what looked like silver. He dug around in his pockets and withdrew a piece of white chalk.

Looking down at the white stone, he muttered something like, "damn marble," and rifled through his pockets again, pulling out some blue chalk.

Glancing up every now and then, he began sketching a triangle on the floor, muttering to himself and narrowing his eyes at the wall.

Amy tilted her head, gingerly leaning over the pile of weapons. "What…are you doing?"

The Doctor smiled at his chalk. "Pythagoras' theorem. You should know it- it's a human thing, and you've got it in the time you come from. Well, then again, I am mixing it with a few off world things- maybe you shouldn't be able to recognize it…"

He trailed off, looking back down at his work- which consisted of a triangle in a horizontal cuboid encircled in a sphere with several lines of varying lengths leading towards the narrowest corner of the triangle, annotated with bizarre figures and a few human numbers.

Amy rolled her eyes, feeling a headache coming on just looking at it. Moving back to sit down, she eventually couldn't resist the urge to speak- not having forgotten their conversation of a few moments before.

"So- how do you know about Omega?"

A troubled expression crossed the Doctor's face, but he gave her a weak half smile and draw one final line on his triangle/square/circle thing, checking over his work before standing and picking up the metre long iron arrow.

"Stop the bomb now- talk later, ok?"

Amy's eyes narrowed- whatever this was, it was big and he didn't want to tell her. Still-he had a point. She got up, fetching the rope for him when he asked.

He began wrapping it around the blunt end of the arrow whilst Amy held it- it was incredibly heavy- even more than it's weight suggested, and she struggled with it whilst he tied various knots.

"So- what's the plan?"

The Doctor took the arrow from her, setting it on the stone with a thunk and picking up the crossbow, opening a panel in it's side and examining the springs and cogs there.

"Well. Basically, flying fox."

Amy raised her eyebrows. "What?"

The Doctor nodded, smirking. "Yeah- I thought you'd say that. Ah, basically, with a little sonic boost on this." He gestured to the bow with his left hand as his right searched in his jacket for his screwdriver. "We're going to use that ornamental arrow to fire a zipline, and then we're going to use the other bow to slide down- and hopefully, bowl into the thief and not break anything. I've done the calculations,so it's probably going to work, and I'm sorry, but you've got to come- because I don't know how these teleportation discs work and I'm not really willing to lose sight of you- considering the risks…"

Amy silenced him with a finger to his lips. "Who said I wouldn't come anyway?"

The Doctor grinned and Amy laughed, glancing over her shoulder at the street below. Catching sight of something she ran from him to the edge, leaning on the stone and looking down at the thief- dressed in black and dropping down over the edge of the other tower, lowering himself by a rope.

"Doctor- you better hurry up- he's here."

Without turning, Amy heard the sound of the sonic screwdriver. There was a thunk and a whirr and the Time Lord spoke from behind her.

"Amy. Get down." She didn't need to be told twice- and ducked as she sprang to the side, feeling the heavy weight of the arrow cutting through the air next to her, followed by the snaking hiss of the rope.

Peeking through the arrow slits in the tower she watched the arrow hit the pathway with a crunch- burying itself in the stone. She turned to watch the Doctor behind her, hurriedly slinging the rope around one of the jutting stones that made the tooth like wall round the tower. He'd already strung the silver bow onto the rope. Below them, the guard called out as the thief ran past.

Together, Amy and the Doctor climbed onto the wall, she behind him, both their hands wrapped tightly round the bow. Amy couldn't resist a brief look down, and saw the sixty foot drop with a jolt in her chest and a drop in her gut. However, before she could panic, the Doctor leaned back, his body warm against hers as he whispered- half scared and half excited.

"You ready?"

His voice raised goosebumps on her arms and she nodded, taking a deep breath and feeling her fears melt away as she pressed herself closer. The thief got further along the wall, and together the Time Lord and the human launched themselves from the tower, skidding along the rope, shouting together.

"Geronimo!"

Amy's last thought was that the fact this man could get her to jump off a sixty foot parapet on nothing but a rope and a silver bow probably wasn't a good thing. She decided she didn't care.

* * *

So-will they stop the thief? Will they not? What does the Doctor know that he's not telling her?

Please please review, and just 'cos I'm feeling lucky with you lot- 10 reviews before next update- might as well let everyone catch up, there isn't much to go,

Thanks for reading as ever!

Kat

"


	33. Kamikaze Warrior

**AN: **hi everyone- in spite of my greediness, I've already gotten all 10 reviews- that's incredible, thankyou!

Ok, and well done to NinjaGirlRebecca, Katy-Alice-Cullen, JasperWhitlockHale'sMan and missprofessorwho all of you correctly said it was Emanuel Teney- and that puts you ALL on 3 points- which is mad for me. I will contact each of you ASAP- but as you can tell- there are lots of prizes to sort and I am only human, so please bear with me!

This chap's quote:

_Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved._

Ok, so last chap, Amy and the Doc jumped off a sixty foot high parapet on nothing but a rope and bow to try and stop a thief falling into the minefield outside the city and setting off interference level 2- the one before the last which makes the whole moon go bang. So they kinda need to stop him right now.

Enjoy!

* * *

They crashed into the thief faster than Amy would have expected, knocking him off balance and causing the contents of his bag to crunch metallically and swing towards the wall, ripping the cheap material.

Even as they pushed the thief down, Amy and the Doctor's focus shifted to his bag, which- having ripped from its straps -swung out and over the wall.

There was a moment of silence, and then a crashing boom as a mine set off in the field below. The explosion ripped through the surface of the planet- causing a weird metallic screech as what Amy knew was the bomb was torn into.

The thief disappeared back to wherever he'd been before- but the change had happened now, and lying on the walkway, Amy and the Doctor waited for the little column to come up. It did, and the screen read:

**INTERFERENCE LEVEL 2: ACTIVATED**

The Doctor swore in Gallifreyan and Amy stroked his hair. "It's ok- it's alright, we'll get to the next one in time, ok?"

The Doctor pulled away with a jerk, sitting up and waiting for their teleport. "No, it's not." He snapped shortly.

Amy flinched a little- he wasn't normally this way, the only time she'd known him like it was with the angels- when she'd heard him yelling at River.

"W-why? What's _so_ bad about it? It's more than just the planet, isn't it?"

"Just the planet." The Doctor scoffed, his fingers beating a racing rhythm on the marble.

The blue light washed over them whilst Amy stared at the Doctor- hurt in spite of herself.

When they rematerialized they were outside the city. Remembering what the Doctor had said about mines, Amy jumped as she touched the dusty, rocky surface. However, after a few seconds of not blowing up, she relaxed a little.

The Doctor scanned their surroundings before moving himself- towards something gleaming on the barren surface a few hundred metres away.

"No mines here. We're on the other side of the planet- the Citizens have never been before."

Amy jogged a little to catch up- looking around. He was right, barren grey dust and rock stretched flat and featureless to both horizons. The Medusa Cascade was at a slightly different place in the sky, and Amy allowed herself to stare at it for a moment.

It truly was entrancing- she'd once heard the Doctor mention it, and still remembered the soft awe that had come into his voice as he'd described one of his favorite places in the universe. Now she understood why.

Suddenly- ahead of her, a column of blue light enveloped the Time Lord, and he disappeared, right before he reached the gleaming patch on the planet's surface. Amy cried out and sprinted to where he'd gone, bending to the dirt and searching through the dust- crushing her nails as she clawed against the rock.

"Come on- come on, there has to be a switch or a groove or _something_!"

Amy choked and held back sobs as she tried desperately not to let herself panic, finding it harder and harder to breathe. Because she barely had fifteen minutes before the planet she was standing on exploded and she didn't know what to do and she didn't care because he wasn't there. She couldn't possibly let herself face the fact that he'd just been snatched away from her, even as tears began to stream down her face.

Giving up on where he'd disappeared, she moved to the gleaming patch. As it turned out there was a huge glass window traced in bronze and gold, at least twenty metres in diameter.

Amy felt her mouth drop slightly, and carefully tiptoed onto the glass, looking down through it- the elegant gold and bronze made the same circular patterns she'd seen all over the city. Far below, a high tech looking control centre- with enormous touch screen monitors in the same pattern as the clock face spread across the floor, glowing softly and covered in bright red warning messages.

Suddenly, stumbling inside in the half dark, carefully creeping round the edges of the screens was a tall, broad shouldered, tweed clad figure. Amy let out a half laughing gasp, her hands flying to her mouth.

"_Doctor!"_

He didn't hear her, still examining the room he was in. Cautiously he crouched to reach down and touch the screens, pulling windows in and out of the displays ridiculously fast- as if he knew this system better than any other. Starting to panic, still stuck outside- stuck away from him, Amy got to her knees and began pounding on the glass.

"Doctor! Doctor! DOC-TOR!"

But he didn't hear her. Worried and at a loss on what to do next, Amy sat on the glass, watching him move around at a run, occasionally running his hands through his hair or using the sonic. Finally, apparently at a loss, he crouched next to one of the largest screens.

Amy could read what it said even from where she sat, fifteen metres above him.

**INTERFERENCE LEVEL 3 PREDICTED. PRIMING BOMB.**

She bit her lip, then went back to pounding on the glass so hard her knuckles began to swell, and then bleed.

"DOCTOR! DOCTOR- I'M _HERE_! WHAT'S GOING ON? HOW CAN I HELP YOU?"

"Oh- you can't do anything for him_ now _little human."

The cold voice cut through the dry air like a razor. Falling silent, Amy glanced up, feeling the hairs on her arms rise slowly.

A beautiful woman stood a few feet away from her on the glass. Suddenly she disappeared and reappeared a few metres away, casting about before picking up an intricate spear hidden in one of the bars. She held it casually, walking closer to Amy, who backed up like a frightened rabbit.

The woman kept her icy blue grey gaze on the girl as she advanced. She wore some kind of bronze helmet, and wore a long red robe, beneath which molded bronze armor shifted as if it was alive. Long, white blonde hair flowed over her shoulders, and her legs and arms seemed almost too elongated to be human.

She cast a disdainful look down to the Doctor- who was racing around the room below, pulling wires from its shadowy recesses and shoving them into the screens, setting off showers of sparks and minor explosions.

"_Traitor."_ She spat in disgust. Amy frowned- she remembered the Doctor saying this bomb belonged to the Time Lords, or at least that they'd created it- so that meant…

"You _survived_." Amy said, too stunned to be scared. The woman's eyes narrowed and the girl elaborated. "You- you survived the Time War."

The woman laughed. "Are you mad? The Time War still continues- rages as it always has and always will. It is not something one _survives_. It is something one _lives._"

Amy's mouth dropped open slightly- this woman thought the Time War continued- which meant she was a soldier. The scot remember the way her Doctor had referred to his people whenever he'd briefly mentioned this time- it was always as if they were mad- wild, angry and dangerous.

The spear's gleaming gold and silver tip could easily penetrate her chest, and Amy didn't doubt this woman would hesitate to kill her. Frightened, heart pounding, Amy got up, walking a little further back, nearly stumbling over another bar.

"W-what are you doing?"

The woman raised a blonde, delicate eyebrow. "Isn't it obvious? I'm activating phase three."

Amy blinked. "Y-you _want_ to set off the bomb? But- that's suicide! And besides- whoever was originally going to do it hasn't yet- so why would you?"

The woman laughed again- it was a laugh that sent shivers down Amy's back, so unlike the Doctor's. The two were polar opposite samples of their race- and frankly this one scared the life out of her.

"I highly doubt it was choice, ape. I am the backup plan- and considering the Time Loop activated on the plant, someone knew about it and is trying to stop me. No matter- I will try, have tried- a hundred thousand million times and a hundred thousand million more to shatter the final protocol and win the war for Gallifrey!"

"Yeah- but if everyone dies, isn't it a draw?" Amy asked, perplexed, raising an eyebrow.

The woman's eyes narrowed into dagger slash slits. "Do you _mock_ me, human?"

Her gorgeous voice was honey and poison- low and threatening.

Shaking her head, Amy scrambled backwards across the glass, though she knew she didn't need to. The woman flashed back to her starting point and she saw where she was with a scream of frustration.

Amy began to calm down- as long as she stayed where she was, the Time Lady couldn't reach her.

"Don't be so sure, girl." The woman called, hefting her spear. Amy blinked- it was like she'd read her mind. Then again, she was a Time Lady. She probably had.

Raising her hands, the Scot called back. "Look- I wasn't mocking you or anything, I was just confused. I'm human- we're…we're primitive, and savage." The words came into Amy's mind from the Doctor's moments of rage against her race. The woman raised an eyebrow and glanced down through the glass.

"Just how close are you and the traitor?"

Amy tried to suppress the rush of affection that came into her mind and heart when she looked with the woman down through the glass, but she couldn't. The gallifreyan gave a loud, disgusted gasp and then raised the spear high.

"Disgusting- you will both burn in the fire!"

Amy cried out and ran towards her, knocking her down, knowing the Time Loop was barely handling the strain of hers and the Doctor's interference- or guessing it.

Still, if she let this stranger shatter the glass, she didn't doubt the bomb would go off straightaway- and she was starting to think this was how the Gallifreyan's had planned on destroying time and space.

* * *

Ooook, so REALLY big bomb. And crazy time lady. Plus distracted Doctor and a timer. Recipe for disaster eh?

Please please comment and question- anything, I really appreciate the feedback, and yes, I know I'm mean for giving you two consecutive cliffies...

Thanks for reading!

Kat


	34. The 'L' Word

**AN: **Hello and well done to everyone for getting the wuote right- I should have said, and hope you understand, that all that is now 'bonus points' with only 2 chapters to go- but well done anyway, it was Barbara Johnson.

Also- apologies for multiple cliffies, especially to Spartacus, who doesn't even have Romans to push over them.

This chap's quote (and one of my favorites of all time):

_If we discovered that we had only five minutes left to say all that we wanted to say, every telephone booth would be occupied by people calling other people to stammer that they loved them._

Ok- so last chap- the Doctor's in a sort of control centre of the bomb, which we're now pretty sure is what the Time Lord's planned on using to destroy Time and Space- the Time Loop is deteriorating and way above him, which he hasn't yet noticed- Amy is stuck with a crazy time lady/warrior- who Amy's just attacked to stop her from setting off the bomb by activating level 3 interference by shattering the glass ceiling of the control room with a golden spear. Geddit?

Ok- Enjoy!

* * *

Unaware of what was going on above him, the Doctor desperately tried to shut down the systems. The familiar gallifreyan master layout had hit him with a wave of nostalgia, but he'd fallen back into it in seconds- like riding a bike, and found out quite quickly that this system was deadlocked.

The only way to physically stop the third level of interference setting off the bomb was by preventing it from happening. The readings said it would happen on the surface though, and the teleport was only working one way- not letting him out.

Suddenly- a thought that spiked guilt and fear through him at once occurred to him, and the Doctor paused mid electrocution.

"Amy…?" He looked around the darkened room- and though shadows hugged the walls, he could see enough to know she wasn't there. The girl he loved. How could he not have missed her?

Swearing the Doctor dropped the wires, exploding planet scurrying from his thoughts as they turned to his companion.

"Amy? AMY!"

She was nowhere and the Doctor slapped a hand against his forehead, running it over his face. She could be anywhere- hurt, lost…

Above him, muted by the thick glass, said girl and a Time Lady grappled with a golden spear.

Trying not to panic the Doctor ran back to the interfaces, moving the windows and crouching to tap in more instructions. The only way he could help Amy now was by stopping the bomb. He checked the clock in the far right of the circular screen. Six human minutes.

Suddenly something caught his eyes- a moving object reflected in the monitor. Glancing up, the Doctor saw a flash of red hair splayed against the glass roof, and above it, a knife wielded by a woman in full Gallifreyan armour.

"_AMY!"_

X

Amy gasped as the woman threw her to the ground, closing her eyes when she saw the knife. Her last thought was that she loved him. Or would have been, had the knife come down on her throat or chest as she'd expected.

Instead it plunged into the front of her thigh- and with a huff the woman picked up her spear again. Trying to move, then screaming with pain as she really felt the knife past the shock, Amy paused- then dragged herself closer to the woman. The Time Lady raised the spear high- as if this was some kind of ceremony.

_"WAIT!" _The human screamed, tears of pain and fear streaming down her face as she realized this woman was about to set off the bomb.

"W-why are you doing this? What good does it do blowing up a near deserted planet?"

The woman froze, then turned to her, a predatory look in her eye. "Wait- you _don't know_?" She glanced down at the Doctor, who was working frantically on the monitors. Amy stared helplessly at the back of his head and wished she could see his face one more time.

The Gallifreyan's words cut through her thoughts.

"Didn't he tell you?"

Amy frowned. "Tell me what?"

The woman laughed her icy laugh. "Oh- this is perfect."

She vanished, then reappeared, picking up her spear again- as she probably had done a hundred thousand times. Amy tried to sit up, escape. Quick as a whip the woman's hand went to her belt and withdrew the knife which had returned to her when she'd restarted her Time Loop- flinging it at the girl's other thigh.

Amy tried to move, but the blade was buried deep inside her leg, and she cried out as both bled profusely.

"It's not _just_ a bomb." The woman called out, disregarding the girl's distress as she made her leisurely way over.

"It's _the_ bomb- the one the Gallifreyan's plan to use to destroy all time and space." So she was right, thought Amy to herself, without much surprise. It was fairly obvious when an armoured Time Lady turned up and claimed this act would win them the war.

Weakly, sweating, crying and bleeding, Amy asked. "How?"

The Time Lady scoffed at the wounded human. "You wouldn't understand."

Amy closer her eyes, taking a deep breath. "I'm about to die with you. Just try me."

Struck by her bravery, the woman fell silent. The she spoke again. "When we're children, Gallifreyan's are made to look into the untempered schism.."

Amy nodded. "I know." Her voice was barely a whisper- and her vision was beginning to blur from pain and blood loss.

The other woman cast a scornful glance down at the Doctor. "I see. Well, we placed the schism at the centre of this planet, and set it up with hundreds of mechanical arms and claws, powered by the strongest explosives we could create, to pull it apart and destroy it. Much like a black hole, only faster- once the schism is damaged it will grow and grow and grow- swallowing all the universe."

Amy tried to keep her fear to herself. Instead her eyes met the other woman's. "And you really think that's a good thing? Really."

The Gallifreyan blinked. "I- I, yes of course!"

Raising a finger, as if she was pointing at a naughty child, Amy slumped down onto the glass. "You stuttered."

The woman shook her head, going to defend herself, but Amy held up a hand. "No- let me speak. I'm bleeding, I can't move, and you're about to kill me. You owe it to me to hear what I have to say."

At that the soldier fell silent, still walking mechanically forwards.

Amy took a deep, shaky breath, taking the dagger out of her thigh and hissing in pain, dropping it on the crystal.

"You might not be like Him, but you are part of his race- and I know, from a surprising amount of experience, that that means you'll share a part of his heart as well as his characteristics." Her tired eyes met the strangers. "I'm hoping it's the right part. This universe is so much more than your war- so much more than pain, and suffering, and bloodthirst. It's got so much to offer."

Amy took a shaky breath. The woman was only a few metres from the centre of the glass now- her spear was still clutched tightly in her hand.

"And it's more than Gallifrey. From what he's told me- Gallifrey was beautiful, and incredible, and I _wish_ I could have seen it, if only for him. But you can't sacrifice the rest of life for its death. You've _got_ to let it go. Don't do this. Please."

She let out a shaky breath.

The woman was already shaking her head, and Amy sighed, wishing the Doctor's people weren't so stubborn.

"Do you have any _idea_ what it's like to be stuck in a Time Loop as a Time lady?" The woman demanded. Her voice was verging on hysteria, and she was standing still- they both knew she was stretching the limits of the loop.

"It used to be a _torture_. I've been _conscious_ for two hundred and seventy six years- repeating the same two minutes over and over and over. Every time, trying to get here, to end it. Every time not quite getting there. I have _nothing _left except to fulfill my task- and if I don't- nothing has any purpose."

With that she raised her spear one more time- and this time Amy knew she'd kill them all. She stared down through the glass at the Doctor- and hoped whatever he was doing would work. Though she wanted to, she couldn't hope much.

X

The Doctor yelled in frustration, punching the fancy high tech monitors.

"No no no no no NO!"

He couldn't reactivate the Time Loop- something was interfering with it too much, and now there was nothing he could do. The predicted interference timer conveniently counted down the seconds till the bomb went off and ended time.

The monitor read sixty eight. Clapping his hands together the Doctor paced back and forth, shouting at himself.

"Think think THINK!"

He wished he could somehow slow down time- though the rational side of him reminded him that it was impossible. He glanced up- Amy was talking to the Time Lady and bleeding heavily on the glass. The other woman clutched a heavy ceremonial spear.

The Doctor swore, pacing back and forth, wishing now to just stop time, freeze this moment to give him longer.

He paused mid step, a thunderstuck expression breaking into his features.

"Freeze time!"

Running to another monitor he pulled up the windows on the Time Loop- the levels were critical, but if he rewrote the software…

Thanking the God of Time for the past fifty years of emergency reprogramming, the Doctor set to work, hands flying. He pulled out his screwdriver, laughing a little and zapping the controls. Then he typed in the final command and looked up to where the woman was raising the spear. Either the planet would blow up- or somehow this would work.

Of course- if he used his plan, it'd affect Amy too, and he didn't know how. The Doctor's hand hovered over the switch that would send off the command, as he stared up at the mad, beautiful, brave, childish, adventurous girl he'd grown to love, and a thousand moments flashed through his mind.

_Amy, laughing and brushing her hair behind her ear, watching him sideways with those golden eyes…_

_Amy, leaning into him, holding him- making him whole again like no one ever could, her body warm against his._

_Amy, crying, each new crystalline tear freshly breaking his heart._

_Amy, her lips on his- warm and excited, tasting, exploring, wanting…_

_Amy, human and beautiful, fighting space bats, saving Star, starting a snowball fight- wearing a golden dress and dancing with him to poetry…_

The Doctor gulped, then flicked the switch, meeting her eyes as he did.

He shouted over the deafening grinding off machinery as the Time Lady's spear came down and his command was processed. He didn't care about what would happen next, standing far below her and unsure whether these were his last moments.

Instead he stared into her face like it held all the secrets and beauty of the universe- to him it did, and she saw him mouth the words as he shouted them, knowing he could die if these were the last things he said.

"_I LOVE YOU!"_

_

* * *

_

So yes, I'm not that dramatic at all really- and this time you get no hints, plus 10 review rule-cos this is the last cliffie- and I'm mean, and hope you're enjoying this.

Thanks as ever for reading this whole series, I really hope you've enjoyed it!

Kat


	35. Redemption

**AN: **hullo again! That was impressive- really, nearly 50% more than I asked for in record time, so I guess I owe it to you to update as soon as possible with this penultimate chapter- thanks to all of you, so much.

This chap's quote:

_Keep your fears to yourself, but share your courage with others._

I'm pretty sure most of you remember last chap- hope you enjoy this!

* * *

There was a bone shattering crash, and then a bright blue shockwave burst from the floor of the control room, throwing the Doctor into the air and breaking the glass above him before spreading across the whole planet. Amy fell unconscious, and the Time Warrior's hands went to her helmet as she fell to her knees.

Falling back to the ground with a thump, the Doctor hissed in pain- rolling onto his back, fairly sure of a few cracked ribs and less remarkably to him, several cuts from the fallen crystal laced across his his face, hands, shoulders and back. He looked up and saw Amy- eyes shut and limp- barely balanced on a shard of glass and one of the bronze bars.

About a metre away, the Time Lady was hanging from the bar, having slipped after collapsing to her knees- and with the skill of an acrobat swung herself up and ran to safety, ignoring the human. The Doctor swore, then shouted, "Amy!"

She didn't react, and she was beginning to slide towards the drop- a drop which would undoubtedly kill her…

Not wanting to let her out of his sight, but knowing he had to, the Doctor ran back to the teleport- ignoring the messages on the screens on the floor.

**INTERFERENCE AVOIDED. BOMB DEACTIVATED.**

**TIME FREEZE- ACTIVE.**

X

On the surface of the planet, the Doctor looked out over the shattered remains of the control room's roof- gleaming metal spires only a few inches thick, occasionally supporting shards of some kind of crystal and glass compound.

A few metres away from him, the Time Lady was on her knees, clutching her helmet. The Doctor frowned- wanting to know what was wrong, but his first priority was Amy.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped out onto the metal bar.

"Don't look down….Don't-look-down."

Arms out like a tightrope walker to try and balance his wait, the Doctor made his way across the curving pathways towards the unconscious Amy. Halfway, one of his boots slipped- and breathing fast he glanced down, at the massive drop below- before a floor covered in huge shards of shattered glass.

Looking back up, hearts hammering, the Doctor kept going- ever so slightly less confident. "And _that_ is why you don't look down."

At last he reached the human girl, crouching on the bar- unwilling to put his weight on the cracked glass in case he broke the weak bond holding it to the metal. Reaching out and wobbling a little, he grabbed Amy's shoulders, then put his hands under her arms, dragging her a little closer.

With a sound like nails on a blackboard, the glass cracked a little more. The Doctor's eyes darted to the veining milk white lines and then back to the girl he was holding. Her head lolled- and her legs left a trail of blood. He felt a sickening wave of guilt that she'd ended up like this.

For now, he put it to the back of his mind- trying not to think about the Hathoria, instead pulling her closer- till her torso was in his arms and most of her weight was balanced on the bars.

Grimacing- trying not to think about all the ways this could go wrong, the Doctor reached out a hand- sliding it under her bloody thighs, whilst the other arm supported her lower back. Taking a deep breath- and pausing briefly to kiss her forehead, the Doctor got ready to stand.

"One…two…three!"

He heaved himself up, carrying her with him, and walked back across the bars- overly aware of the height and her weight- determined not to let her fall. He made his way back in about half the time, his worry for Amy driving him to walk faster and faster- until at last they touched land.

Breathing a sigh of relief, the Doctor gently lay her down, brushing her hair from her face and kissing her forehead again.

Behind them, there was another crack, and the glass she'd been resting on broke from the bar- falling for a few seconds before shattering with a crunch.

The Doctor flinched a little- and the Time Lady whimpered in pan. Glancing over, he saw that by now she was lying down, curled in a fetal position as her hands clutched at her helmet.

Knowing she was the one who'd hurt Amy filled him with enough anger to leave her there in pain and not bother to find out what was wrong. But he also knew she was the only other remaining Gallifreyan in this universe now the Master was gone. He owed his race his assistance at least.

Eyes hard, he kissed Amy on the forehead again before getting up and walking over to the other survivor- who'd wanted to end it all.

X

The Time Lady moaned again, eyes tightly shut- and now he was close enough, the Doctor could see the delicate arcs of white electricity over the helmet and her face.

Crouching next to her- he examined the bronze of the helmet. It was no ordinary Gallifreyan helmet- inside, flashing and twisting, were various metal gears and boxes- and somehow, it was torturing her.

The Doctor frowned- things were no longer as straightforward as he'd thought. Her hands were red from trying to pull off the helmet and being burnt by the electricity- and tears ran down her face- which was creased with wrinkles.

Unless she was well over a few thousand years old- she shouldn't be showing any signs of aging. Pulling out his screwdriver, the Doctor murmured.

"The plot thickens."

As he scanned the helmet, the woman's eyes snapped open- and though she continued to writhe in agony, she stopped moaning immediately.

"Who-who _are_ you?"

Her voice was soft and weak, and her jaw was tight as she forced the words out. The other Time lord raised his eyebrows.

"A traitor- according to you. But most call me the Doctor."

Recognition flashed in her blue eyes and she managed a strained, tight smile. "I-I thought so. I've heard the stories….our most famous betrayer." The Doctor flinched at the word. "Our greatest saviour."

He blinked, and she tried to smile a little more whilst her hands clawed at the dust and rock.

"Are you mocking me?" He murmured.

The woman let out a shaking gasp- and now, it was unmistakable, her wrinkles had deepened and spread-so she looked like a human woman of about sixty.

"No. I- was driven mad by the…Time Loop." The Doctor cocked an eyebrow, disbelieving, but she carried on regardless, focusing on the medusa cascade behind his shoulder as she spoke.

"This…was my punishment."

The Doctor nodded to the helmet. "What, that?"

Her eyebrows pulled up in the middle as her back arched and she shut her eyes, opening her mouth in a silent scream. After a few seconds, she fell back down.

"No. Triggering Omega."

He frowned in astonishment- of all the things the Doctor had expected her to say, it wasn't that. "But you're a soldier- how is winning the war a punishment?"

She smiled a little, minutely shaking her head.

"I wasn't..always..a soldier. I discovered the plans. Protested. Threatened to reveal them to our race- the majority of whom had no knowledge of this…_project_." In spite of her weak state, she still managed to spit the word.

"So, they caught me- put me into armour, and attached this to my head. It's a…device- to make me human."

"Of _course_." He breathed, the helmet- electricity, and inexplicable aging coming together at once. The woman nodded again, just a little.

" way I'd die. But I would die human- other than my family and loved ones. Alienated from our race in my last moments. At first- it was not enough to tempt me, but then the Time Loop set in."

Her hand reached for the Doctor's- clutching it tightly.

"Imagine it Doctor. Two hundred and seventy six _years._ Conscious, as you repeated the same action, again and again and _again._ In the end- I forgot why I was there. I forgot why I didn't want this. I forgot what was hidden inside this helmet. All I wanted was to complete my task."

She paused, gritting her teeth and taking a hissing breath. By now her skin was papery- her hair pure white. It was a pitiful sight- seeing her so frail on the ground, but her eyes still burnt with fierce strength_._

"You stopped me." Her voice was wondering, and barely more than a whisper. "I can't thank you enough."

Her hand, now knarled and slight, clutched the Doctor's, and he squeezed it back.

"What's your name?"

She smiled. "People used to call me Lady Rosanna. Then the Strategist. Then the Tribute. But…those who loved me…who I trusted…knew me as Elkani."

The Doctor's left him in a rush as she murmured her true name in their language. He felt a tear come to his eye as she continued to age, clearly, this device was somehow fixed. He got out his screwdriver, scanning it again.

"But why are you aging? I don't understand- it should make you human as you are."

Elkani sighed, still trembling slightly- but lacking enough strength to struggle against the currents running through her body.

"You froze the planet- and this device activated the second the Time Loop was broken. I was turning human already- it was taking off the years, but you froze me at the age I was."

The Doctor's eyes widened in realization as she continued, though she could see he understood.

"The device could still physically make me a human being- but my age was locked into my bodyclock. And by that point, it was still 864."

Distressed, the Time Lord took her hand- holding it in both of his and searching her face. "I'm _sorry_."

Her lined mouth stretched into a weak smile. "As am I."

Meeting her eyes for a second, the Doctor snapped into action- scanning her helmet and then smacking the screwdriver against his thigh, swearing under his breath as he thought furiously, trying to save Elkani.

He froze when her hand rested on his knee.

"It is too late now. But…I am content. You stopped Omega. I do not have to die with that blood on my conscience."

She shut her eyes, but opened them when he took her hand again.

"I want you to know- the Time War- it's over."

Elkani gapsed, and her eyes filled with sudden tears. She gripped the Doctor's hand tightly.

"How?"

"I put it into a Time Lock- this escaped through the rift, but now the link's broken. The universe is safe. This universe- and you escaped the Time War. You survived after all."

Tears ran down her face as she took this in, smiling as if no pain ran through her body, even as her skin paled and lightened, sinking onto her bones almost imperceptibly. Suddenly her eyes met the Doctor's.

"But then- if I die…you're alone."

The Doctor shook his head, glancing back at Amy, still unconscious on the ground.

"No, I'm not."

Elkani chuckled a little. "She's feisty, that one. We were wrong about them, I think."

The Doctor nodded, grinning.

"You know that she too will be affected by this?"

Again the Doctor nodded, though the smile had fallen from his face. "Yes. But…I love her. We'll make it through."

The Time Lady smiled, even as her hair began to drop lightly from her head like silken snow.

"I'm sure you will. Doctor- don't forget." She waited for his eyes to meet hers. "You are our saviour. Not our betrayer. _That_ is how we remember you."

With that, Elkani shut her eyes, gently pulling her hand from the Doctor's, and rested both hands on her abdomen. She looked for a moment as if she was merely asleep- and then there was a faint sigh, and she melted into dust.

The Doctor shut his eyes as her remains were whisked away by the light wind. Tears ran down his cheeks, and he crouched, hands clasped- as if he were praying to his ancestors. Thanking them for their forgiveness under the medusa cascade.

* * *

One more chapter after this- which will be posted tomorrow evening and end this series unless there's a very convincing argument otherwise- I will write more DW, but this story is coming to an end, I hope you've enjoyed it.

Please do comment on this chapter- if anything for old time's sake, and again, thankyou for reading,

Kat


	36. The truth, and hope

**AN: **Hello- may I just say thankyou to you all (and my dorm mate- Squidge) for reading this and the 'L' Word, I can't say how much I appreciate your support, enthusiasm, comments and continued loyalty and frankly faith in me as an author- in spite of my frequent abandonment of you. So yeah- thanks.

This chap's quote- for the whole series:

_**As we grow older together, As we continue to change with age, There is one thing that will never change. . . I will always keep falling in love with you**. _

Ok, so this is it- the Time Lady is gone, the bomb was stopped, and Amy is unconscious. The Doctor is with her though, and Elkani's last words to him were of forgiveness. Also- during his traumatic experience with a hallucinogenic alien plant called the Hathoria- the Doctor saw his daughter, who was called Alice. Also- he and Amy slept together a few days ago.

Ok- this is it! For the last time- enjoy!

* * *

Moving quickly, the Doctor checked Amy's pulse and breathing before scooping her into his arms and half running to the teleport. She'd been unconscious for several minutes so far and he was beginning to get worried. He needed to be back at the TARDIS, now.

The blue light enveloped them, and when the Time Lord reopened his eyes he and his companion were standing outside the town hall of Omega. All the people were gone.

"That solves one mystery…" The Doctor murmured to himself, watching the new dust eddie in the wind across the city's once pristine marble streets.

Of course, two hundred and seventy six years would be barely anything to a Time Lord- but to humans… Well, there was a reason the city was now covered in dust. Shivering, the Doctor turned away from the temple and the frozen clocks, walking outside Omega's marble walls.

The TARDIS was frozen on the outside, but it's shields had protected the interior and mechanics from any interference. Getting in by using his screwdriver to boost the security protocols and expel the Time freeze over the ship, the Doctor shouldered his way inside- Amy still clutched tightly in his arms.

First he took her to the medical bay, laying her down and taking several scans to check all her vital organs were safe and unaffected. Scanning the screens the Doctor sucked in a quick, shocked breath. He checked again, then rechecked. The results were still the same.

Staring down at his redhead with an unreadable expression, the Doctor suddenly leant forwards, brushing her hair from her face and kissing her forehead.

Then, making sure she was safe- the Time Lord went back outside the room to the controls, taking them away from his people's final weapon- and it's haunted city.

X

Amy blinked. Her vision was blurred and her eyes were hot, as if they were full of tears. All she could see were splotches of light and shadow. She blinked again, moaning as a sharp pain pierced into her mind.

Slowly, things came in to focus, so she could see the Doctor's worried face just above her own. Taking a deep breath, she tried her voice. At first, nothing came out- but after a few attempts she managed a hoarse whisper.

"How long was I out?"

The Doctor smiled, but the tight corners of his eyes betrayed his worry. "Four days. I was starting to worry."

Amy raised her eyebrows, trying to sit up and feeling a wave a dizziness wash over her. "Four _days?_ What happened?"

All she could remember was that Time Warrior lifting the spear, and looking down at the Doctor to tell him she loved him one last time. Amy frowned as it all came rushing back, and her eyes darted to the Doctor's.

"You stopped the bomb?"

The Doctor nodded. "Don't worry, you're safe."

Still catching up, Amy's frown deepened. "What about the crazy time lady? And all those people stuck in the time loop?"

He let out a sigh. "All gone." His tone and expression were bitter sweet. Amy wondered why, but felt now was not that time.

Instead she reached a hand up round the back of her head, checking for injuries. "So- what knocked me out?

Hesitating, the Doctor looked away- impulsively reading the monitors scanning her every few moments for damage.

"Doctor?"

"It's complicated." He looked down at his hands, then back up at Amy.

"In order to stop the bomb, I had to put the planet into a Time Freeze. Since the Time Loop was deteriorating, it froze everything at it's current moment- it's current _age._"

"So?" Amy could feel a nervous feeling gnawing at her stomach, and she wasn't sure why.

The Doctor sighed, meeting her eyes for a second- his expression torn. Then he took a deep breath, and let it all out at once.

"So you were on the surface of the planet, at the centre of the blast- and you're human, so you don't have a Time Lord's natural resilience to forced changes in the time stream. Everyone else- having repeated the same moment for two hundred and seventy six years fell to dust. But you…"

Realisation dawned and Amy was unsure if she happy or devastated. "I'm frozen like this- my bodyclock has been stopped."

Nodding, the Doctor added. "Yes, and- there's something else." He choked a little and Amy watched him from where she lay.

"What is it?" Her voice was tender. She couldn't fully take in the news that she'd never age again right now- or it's implications, but regardless her love for him brought a swell of concern to her heart to see him so distressed.

Looking down at his hands, the Doctor's face set and he raised his chin, meeting her eyes.

"The scans showed that you're pregnant. I wouldn't have known, but I had to do a full body scan on your internal organs."

Amy's mouth fell open slightly and she felt her eyes fill with tears as her hand went to her smooth stomach.

"Is it affected by the Time Freeze?" Suddenly the idea that she may forever carry the beginnings of a child, both of them frozen- occurred to her, and she tried to swallow her horror at the thought.

The Doctor shook his head. "No. I don't think so- you shielded it from most of the blast, and it's not yet developed enough to have a mature body clock which could be affected. Of course I don't know what the long term effects will be- I mean, there's not exactly a guidebook, but Amy-"

His tone changed, becoming fierce and intense as he took her hand.

"I swear to you. To both of you that I will do everything I possibly can to keep you safe and well and happy. I will never leave you- no matter what happens, I will _always _be there." The Doctor smiled . "No more slipups, no missed dates- nothing but you and I and our child."

Amy smiled back, laughing a little as the words she'd dreamed he'd say to her one day were said out loud. A few tears trickled from her eyes, and then she pulled him towards her, pressing her lips to his, gently- lovingly, a caress of skin.

No matter what- no matter what he did or did not do, no matter how either of them changed or what happened to them- they had each other, would always have each other. Their love and loyalty had no equal- the Oncoming Storm and Amelia Pond.

Pulling back a little, Amy put her hand to his cheek, cupping it the way he had so long ago when they'd danced to poetry on a crystal star. The difference was- now he was hers. And she his. Amy's grin widened even as the Doctor tenderly brushed away her tears with his thumb.

"So- any ideas for names?"

The Doctor chuckled lightly, tucking her hair behind her ear. "It's a bit early isn't it?"

Amy pouted. "Well we'll have to think about it some time."

Sighing in defeat, the Doctor smiled, gently touching her nose with his.

"Well, if it's a girl- I was thinking Alice…"

_FIN_

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_Thankyou again- please do let me know what you thought of the series/this story, I'd love to know- and thanks for sticking through to the end,

Forever yours and a Pond,

Kat


	37. Author's Note to my anonymous bully

**an: **Sorry about this- thanks to everyone who has reviewed, however there is one I must address.

Blank, Feared things and fact check- quite apart from the fact you come across as rude and somewhat superior, I'd like to take the chance to correct you- I hope this chapter is a wonderful surprise.

Your first review- all I can say is what you seem to be lacking is patience. This is a story, not a recount of an event- human beings have something called emotions, and if I disregarded them I wouldn't be much of a writer.

the second- actually, having read the next chapter- I hope you realised there was a feared set of circumstances emphasised and made a visual metaphor. He knows subconsciously his fear of being close to her and deliberate avoidance is destroying the possibility of having children with her- this is a point of self conflict. By preventing the possibility of something he wants very much, he is 'shooting her'- though considering they are NOT entirely honest in terms of perspective of truth, the Hathoria emphasise this. It seems you are lacking in that thing so beloved by intellectuals and artists- in spite of your obvious depths of knowledge- an imagination. Also- I'm afraid I'm not studying pyschology- this is a work of fiction, and should not be taken as anything else.

the third- did I mention anything about her becoming human? I thought it was where her time lord self was stored- as exemplified in the episodes with the master, and the two you mentioned. Donna does not need to change her species, she needs to store her excessive consciousness- this is not done by a chameleon arch- which is a device of transferral. I'm sorry- would you like to watch the episode again? In the end though- I'm not writing this for an obsession with Doctor Who- I'm doing it because I find it enjoyable, it seems odd you would go out of your way to make it the opposite.

I hope one day you can overcome your arrogance and frankly know-it-all attitude, and learn something from the show other than the technicalities- like the art of life, love, joy and time. Until then, I'm afraid if you post any more abusive comments without me being able to reply I will report them- I have no wish to be attacked by someone unwilling even to go by the same name.

There is a difference between being a critic and being an insecure superior bully. Apparently you have not yet learnt that. Until you do- please don't do this to anyone else.

Katherine Moonhawk.


End file.
